HELQ reverses the malignant phenotype of osteosarcoma cells via CHK1-RAD51 signaling pathway.

HELQ is a DNA helicase important for repair of DNA lesions and has been linked to several types of cancer. However, little is known about its relationship with osteosarcoma (OS) and its mechanism. In the present study, the expression of HELQ and its downstream mediators in OS cells was assayed by quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. The function of HELQ in OS cells was investigated by Transwell invasion, wound healing, CCK8 assays and Comet assay. The results demonstrated that HELQ gene and protein were expressed in OS cells. OS cell invasion, migration, proliferation and DNA damage repair were enhanced by HELQ knock-down with shRNA-lentivirus and inhibited by HELQ overexpression with lentivirus transfection. Furthermore, the antitumor activities of HELQ may be associated with upregulated expression of the DNA damage-related proteins CHK1 and RAD51. Our findings indicated that HELQ confers an anti-invasive phenotype on OS cells by activating the CHK1-RAD51 signaling pathway and suggested that HELQ could be recognized as a promising therapeutic target for OS and other types of malignant tumors.