HDGF-related protein-2 (HRP-2) acts as an oncogene to promote cell growth in hepatocellular carcinoma
- Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2015 Mar 20;458(4):849-55. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.02.042.
- 1. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
- 2. Department of Urology, Shanghai First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200080, PR China.
- 3. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
- 4. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, PR China; Shanghai Cancer Center, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
HDGFRP2 (HRP-2) belongs to the Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF)-related proteins (HRPs) family, which are characterized by a conserved HATH/PWWP domain at a well-conserved region of the N-terminus. However, the cellular function of HRP-2 remains unknown. In this study, we showed for the first time that HRP-2 is frequently overexpressed in human HCC tissues at mRNA and protein levels. We further showed that HRP-2 can promote HCC cells growth in vitro and xenograft tumors in vivo. Using protein affinity purification methods, we searched for functional partners of HRP-2, and found that HRP-2 interacts with various proteins known to be involved in transcription elongation and processing. Furthermore, we demonstrate HRP-2 interacts and co-localizes with RNA processing regulator IWS1, and positively regulated the mRNA level of Cyclin D1. Together, our study suggests HRP-2 may act as an mRNA processing co-factor to promote cells growth by regulating the mRNA of key oncogenes, which can be explored further for Cancer treatment.