Carboxypeptidase A6 Promotes the Proliferation and Migration of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Up-regulating AKT Signaling Pathway.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a poor treatment prognosis and high mortality worldwide. Understanding the molecular mechanism underlying HCC development would benefit the identification of diagnostic biomarkers and the improvement of the treatment strategies. The expression of carboxypeptidase A6 (CPA6) has been reported in epilepsy and febrile seizures rather than in any type of cancers. However, the function of CPA6 expression in HCC is not yet understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of the expression of CPA6 in HCC and the underlying mechanisms. We observed that the expression of the CPA6 protein was increased significantly in HCC tissues than in paracancerous tissues. To explore its function in HCC, both gain- and loss-of-function studies demonstrated that CPA6 played a vital role in promoting HCC growth and metastasis. When knocking down CPA6 with shRNA, HCC cell proliferation and migration could be suppressed. Meanwhile, CPA6 overexpression could promote proliferation and migration of HLF cells. Moreover, CPA6 could activate AKT serine/threonine kinase (AKT) signaling pathway as confirmed by Western blotting. In conclusion, our study revealed that CPA6 could promote HCC cell proliferation and migration via AKT-mediated signaling pathway. These findings suggest that CPA6 is a promising diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target to improve the prognosis of HCC.