G3BP1 contributes to tumor metastasis via upregulation of Slug expression in hepatocellular carcinoma.

RasGAP SH3-domain-Binding Protein 1 (G3BP1) has been implicated in cell growth, migration, and metastasis of some cancers, yet its function in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains to be explored. In the present study, we reported that G3BP1 was upregulated in HCC tissues compared with adjacent non-cancerous liver tissues both in mRNA and protein levels, and its high expression was significantly correlated with poor prognosis of HCC patients. Functional analyses demonstrated that forced expression of G3BP1 in HCC cells promoted cell migration, and silenced expression of G3BP1 by RNA interference caused opposite effects. Moreover, G3BP1 knockdown attenuated the distant metastasis capacity of HCC cells through tail vein injection approach in nude mice model. At molecular mechanism, we found G3BP1 knockdown decreased Slug expression, and increased the expression of the epithelial cell marker E-cadherin. Overexpression of Slug could restore the phenotype of G3BP1 silencing induced cell migration inhibition. Together, our data establish G3BP1 as an oncogenic factor involved in the metastasis of HCC and suggest that G3BP1 might serve as a novel predictor for patients' outcome.