Page 51 - Read Online

Original Article

Fascin-1 depletion from hepatocellular carcinoma cells inhibits

migfilin and vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein expression
and enhances adhesiona

1
Vasiliki Gkretsi , Dimitrios P. Bogdanos 1,2,3
1 Department of Biomedical Research and Technology, Institute for Research and Technology-Thessaly, Centre for Research and
Technology-Hellas (CE.R.T.H.), 41222 Larissa, Greece
2 Department of Rheumatology, School of Medicine, University Hospital of Larissa, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece
3 Department of Liver Studies and Transplantation, Institute of Liver Studies, King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5
9RS, UK

ABSTRACT
Aim: Extracellular matrix (ECM)-adhesions and their interaction with actin cytoskeleton are fundamental for
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Fascin-1, an actin-bundling protein, is correlated with poor HCC prognosis, and is
known regarding the molecular mechanism of its action. In this study, the authors investigated Fascin-1 basic molecular
mechanism and cellular properties in HCC cells. Methods: Fascin-1 was silenced by small interfering RNA and the
expression of actin. The ECM-adhesion-related proteins were assessed along with the cells’ adhesion capacity in two
cell lines that differ in terms of aggressiveness; the hepatoma cell line PLC/PRF/5 (Alexander) and the highly invasive
HCC cell line HepG2. Results: This study shows that Fascin-1 is upregulated in HepG2 cells compared to Alexander
cells and when silenced leads to increased cell adhesion only in HepG2, while at the same time is associated with
reduced migfilin and vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) expression. Conclusion: This is the first study
to show that Fascin-1 contributes to a more aggressive phenotype in HCC cells and acts through migfilin and VASP.
Key words: Adhesion; Fascin-1; hepatocellular carcinoma; migfilin; vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein

Address for correspondence:
Dr. Vasiliki Gkretsi, Department of Biomedical Research and Technology, Institute for Research and Technology-Thessaly, Centre for Research
and Technology-Hellas (CE.R.T.H.), 51 Papanastasiou Street, 41222 Larissa, Greece. E-mail: vasso.gkretsi@gmail.com
Received: 23-05-2015, Accepted: 09-10-2015

Dr. Vasiliki Gkretsi received her BSc in Biology from the University of Athens, Greece (2001) and
her Ph.D from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, USA (2006). She has received numerous
awards and published 21 papers (h index = 12). Her research focuses on the role of extracellular
matrix, and cell adhesion in metastasis.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows
Access this article online others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the
Quick Response Code author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
Website: For reprints contact: service@oaepublish.com
http://www.hrjournal.net/
How to cite this article: Gkretsi V, Bogdanos DP. Fascin-1 depletion
from hepatocellular carcinoma cells inhibits migfi lin and vasodilator-
DOI: stimulated phosphoprotein expression and enhances adhesion.
10.4103/2394-5079.168071 Hepatoma Res 2016;2:42-6.

42 © 2016 Hepatoma Research | Published by OAE Publishing Inc.