AIMS: The Wnt planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway is one of the Wnt pathways which plays a critical role in cell proliferation and fate. The VANGL1 protein is one of Wnt-PCP pathway components. It is known that Wnt-PCP pathway has major roles in cell motility but its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression through invasion and metastasis needs to be clarified. METHODS: We silenced VANGL1 gene expression in the HepG2 HCC cell line by stable transfection with a vector containing siRNA template for VANGL1 and investigated the change in cell invasion and motility. RESULTS: Transfected cells with the siRNA template showed significantly suppressed invasive capacity when compared to controls although cellular motility was only slightly affected. CONCLUSION: Our study showed a basal role for VANGL1 with respect to the invasive capacity of HCC cells. This suggests that the Wnt-PCP pathway may play a role in progression of HCC through cellular invasion but further studies are needed to clarify its role in cell motility.
AIMS: The Wnt planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway is one of the Wnt pathways which plays a critical role in cell proliferation and fate. The VANGL1 protein is one of Wnt-PCP pathway components. It is known that Wnt-PCP pathway has major roles in cell motility but its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression through invasion and metastasis needs to be clarified. METHODS: We silenced VANGL1 gene expression in the HepG2 HCC cell line by stable transfection with a vector containing siRNA template for VANGL1 and investigated the change in cell invasion and motility. RESULTS: Transfected cells with the siRNA template showed significantly suppressed invasive capacity when compared to controls although cellular motility was only slightly affected. CONCLUSION: Our study showed a basal role for VANGL1 with respect to the invasive capacity of HCC cells. This suggests that the Wnt-PCP pathway may play a role in progression of HCC through cellular invasion but further studies are needed to clarify its role in cell motility.
Authors: D H Kho; J A Bae; J H Lee; H J Cho; S H Cho; J H Lee; Y-W Seo; K Y Ahn; I J Chung; K K Kim Journal: Gut Date: 2008-07-24 Impact factor: 23.059