Plasma membrane gp96 enhances invasion and metastatic potential of liver cancer via regulation of uPAR

Targeted therapy is currently under intensive investigation due to the resistance of liver cancer to cytotoxic chemotherapies. Dissecting the molecular events that drive the progression of liver cancer and defining specific targets are urgently needed to develop efficient tailored therapies. Cell me...

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Main Authors: Junwei Hou, Xin Li, Changfei Li, Lu Sun, Yulai Zhao, Jingmin Zhao, Songdong Meng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-08-01
Series:Molecular Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molonc.2015.03.004
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author Junwei Hou
Xin Li
Changfei Li
Lu Sun
Yulai Zhao
Jingmin Zhao
Songdong Meng
author_facet Junwei Hou
Xin Li
Changfei Li
Lu Sun
Yulai Zhao
Jingmin Zhao
Songdong Meng
author_sort Junwei Hou
collection DOAJ
description Targeted therapy is currently under intensive investigation due to the resistance of liver cancer to cytotoxic chemotherapies. Dissecting the molecular events that drive the progression of liver cancer and defining specific targets are urgently needed to develop efficient tailored therapies. Cell membrane gp96 (mgp96) has been implicated in tumor growth and malignancy. Here, we explored the functional and clinical relevance of mgp96 in liver cancer. We found that elevated mgp96 abundance was associated with tumor metastasis and recurrence in patients with primary liver tumors. Decreased KDELR1 levels in hepatoma cells contribute to cell membrane translocation of the normally ER‐resident gp96. Urokinase‐type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) was identified as a mgp96 client protein, and mgp96 stabilized uPAR protein. Our clinical results proved that elevated mgp96 abundance is positively correlated with uPAR expression levels in liver tumors. We further provided evidence that targeting mgp96 with siRNA or a specific mAb that blocked the mgp96‐uPAR interaction led to inhibited cell growth, survival, and invasion in vitro, as well as the suppression of liver tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. mgp96 promotes liver cancer progression through increasing the protein stability and signaling of uPAR, and may be a new promising target for suppressing uPAR‐mediated tumor growth and metastasis in liver cancer.
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series Molecular Oncology
spelling doaj-art-e799a16b55a84017bf76cb98339d2dcc2025-08-20T02:27:43ZengWileyMolecular Oncology1574-78911878-02612015-08-01971312132310.1016/j.molonc.2015.03.004Plasma membrane gp96 enhances invasion and metastatic potential of liver cancer via regulation of uPARJunwei Hou0Xin Li1Changfei Li2Lu Sun3Yulai Zhao4Jingmin Zhao5Songdong Meng6CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, PR ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, PR ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, PR ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, PR ChinaInstitute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing, PR ChinaInstitute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing 302 Hospital, Beijing, PR ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, PR ChinaTargeted therapy is currently under intensive investigation due to the resistance of liver cancer to cytotoxic chemotherapies. Dissecting the molecular events that drive the progression of liver cancer and defining specific targets are urgently needed to develop efficient tailored therapies. Cell membrane gp96 (mgp96) has been implicated in tumor growth and malignancy. Here, we explored the functional and clinical relevance of mgp96 in liver cancer. We found that elevated mgp96 abundance was associated with tumor metastasis and recurrence in patients with primary liver tumors. Decreased KDELR1 levels in hepatoma cells contribute to cell membrane translocation of the normally ER‐resident gp96. Urokinase‐type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) was identified as a mgp96 client protein, and mgp96 stabilized uPAR protein. Our clinical results proved that elevated mgp96 abundance is positively correlated with uPAR expression levels in liver tumors. We further provided evidence that targeting mgp96 with siRNA or a specific mAb that blocked the mgp96‐uPAR interaction led to inhibited cell growth, survival, and invasion in vitro, as well as the suppression of liver tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. mgp96 promotes liver cancer progression through increasing the protein stability and signaling of uPAR, and may be a new promising target for suppressing uPAR‐mediated tumor growth and metastasis in liver cancer.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molonc.2015.03.004mgp96uPARLiver cancerMAPKDFS
spellingShingle Junwei Hou
Xin Li
Changfei Li
Lu Sun
Yulai Zhao
Jingmin Zhao
Songdong Meng
Plasma membrane gp96 enhances invasion and metastatic potential of liver cancer via regulation of uPAR
Molecular Oncology
mgp96
uPAR
Liver cancer
MAPK
DFS
title Plasma membrane gp96 enhances invasion and metastatic potential of liver cancer via regulation of uPAR
title_full Plasma membrane gp96 enhances invasion and metastatic potential of liver cancer via regulation of uPAR
title_fullStr Plasma membrane gp96 enhances invasion and metastatic potential of liver cancer via regulation of uPAR
title_full_unstemmed Plasma membrane gp96 enhances invasion and metastatic potential of liver cancer via regulation of uPAR
title_short Plasma membrane gp96 enhances invasion and metastatic potential of liver cancer via regulation of uPAR
title_sort plasma membrane gp96 enhances invasion and metastatic potential of liver cancer via regulation of upar
topic mgp96
uPAR
Liver cancer
MAPK
DFS
url https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molonc.2015.03.004
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