Research Paper|Volume 12, Issue 3|pp 2373—2392

UBE2M promotes cell proliferation via the β-catenin/cyclin D1 signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma

Guang-Cong Zhang^1,^2,³, Xiang-Nan Yu^2,³, Jia-Lei Sun^2,³, Ju Xiong⁴, Yi-Jun Yang⁵, Xue-Mei Jiang^1,⁶, Ji-Min Zhu^2,³

¹Department of Gastroenterology, Central South University Xiangya School of Medicine Affiliated Haikou Hospital, Haikou 570100, China
²Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200030, China
³Shanghai Institute of Liver Diseases, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200030, China
⁴Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Hainan General Hospital, Haikou 570100, China
⁵Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Central South University Xiangya School of Medicine Affiliated Haikou Hospital, Haikou 570100, China
⁶Department of Gastroenterology, Hainan General Hospital, Haikou 570100, China

* Equal contribution

Received: September 13, 2019Accepted: January 7, 2020Published: February 3, 2020

Copyright: © 2020 Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Upregulated ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2M (UBE2M) is associated with poor prognosis in malignancies; However, the phenotype and mechanism of action of UBE2M in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain elusive. Here, we report that UBE2M is overexpressed and correlated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. The UBE2M level is an independent prognostic factor for HCC patients. UBE2M knockdown inhibits HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, whereas its overexpression has an opposite effect. Mechanistically, upregulated UBE2M exerts oncogenic effects by translocation of accumulated β-catenin from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, thus activating downstream β-catenin/cyclin D1 signaling. In summary, our study demonstrates a notable role of UBE2M in promoting the growth of HCC, providing a novel strategy for HCC prevention and treatment.