Research Paper Volume 15, Issue 21 pp 12171—12191

CENPB promotes the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma and is directly regulated by miR-29a

Xuyang Wang1, , Laibang Luo1, , Youfu Zhang1, , Gang Liu1, , Zehong Fang1, , Zhidan Xu1, , Xuguang Hu1, ,

  • 1 Department of Organ Transplantation, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China

Received: June 20, 2023       Accepted: October 3, 2023       Published: November 2, 2023      

https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.205171
How to Cite

Copyright: © 2023 Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a significant global health concern as it ranks as the sixth most common malignant tumor and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. In this study, we analyzed the expression of centromere protein B (CENPB) mRNA in HCC using TCGA and GEO datasets. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to determine CENPB protein levels in 490 HCC patients. Our findings revealed higher expression of CENPB mRNA in HCC tissues across the three datasets. Additionally, as the pathological stage and histological grade advanced, CENPB expression increased. Patients with elevated levels of CENPB mRNA and protein demonstrated shorter overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (OS). Notably, CENPB protein showed prognostic value in patients with stage I/II, AFP levels below 400 ng/ml, and tumor size less than 5 cm. Using multivariate regression analysis in 490 HCC patients, we developed nomograms to predict 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year OS and RFS. Knockdown of CENPB in Hep3B and MHCC97 cell lines resulted in significant inhibition of cell proliferation and invasion. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis identified miR-29a as a potential negative regulator of CENPB expression, which was validated through a dual-luciferase reporter assay. In conclusion, our findings suggest that CENPB may serve as an oncogenic factor in HCC and is directly regulated by miR-29a, highlighting its potential as a promising therapeutic target.

Abbreviations

CENPB: centromere protein B; HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; IHC: immunohistochemistry; OS: overall survival; RFS: recurrence-free survival; qRT-PCR: Quantitative polymerase chain reaction; ROC: receiver operating characteristic; AUC: area under the curve.