Co-Expression of Ezrin-CLIC5-Podocalyxin Is Associated with Migration and Invasiveness in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND AIM Prognostic markers are important for predicting the progression and staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Ezrin (EZR) and Podocalyxin (PODXL) are proteins associated with invasion, migration and poor prognosis in various types of cancer. Recently, it has been observed that chloride intracellular channel 5 (CLIC5) forms a complex with EZR and PODXL and that it is required for podocyte structure and function. In this study, we evaluated the overexpression of EZR, PODXL and CLIC5 in HCC. METHODS The modified resistant hepatocyte model (MRHR), human biopsies and HCC cell lines (HepG2, Huh7 and SNU387) were used in this study. Gene and protein expression levels were evaluated in the MRHR by qRT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses, and protein expression in the human biopsies was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Protein expression in the HCC cell lines was evaluated by immunofluorescence and Western blot, also the migration and invasive abilities of Huh7 cells were evaluated using shRNA-mediated inhibition. RESULTS Our results indicated that these genes and proteins were overexpressed in HCC. Moreover, when the expression of CLIC5 and PODXL was inhibited in Huh7 cells, we observed decreased migration and invasion. CONCLUSION This study suggested that EZR, CLIC5 and PODXL could be biological markers to predict the prognosis of HCC and that these proteins participate in migration and invasion processes.