CDHR5 inhibits proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma and predicts clinical prognosis

Background As one of the most prevalent malignancies, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Due to the lack of biomarkers for early diagnosis, the clinical outcome of HCC remains unsatisfied with the current common therapeutic approaches, including surgery and chemotherapies. Thus, sensitive biomarkers and targeted therapies are in great need. Aims In this study, we explored and verified whether CDHR5 (cadherin-related family member 5), a cadherin family protein, could serve as the potential biomarkers for HCC in the clinic. Methods A retrospective study which contained 154 HCC patients was performed. Chi-square was utilized to analyze the relationship between CDHR5 expression and the clinicopathological features of HCC patients. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analyses were then used to evaluate the survival of HCC patients. In addition, cell proliferation assay and colony formation assay were performed to examine the effects of CDHR5 on the progression of HepG2 and Huh7 cells. Results IHC and RT-qPCR revealed that CDHR5 was downregulated in HCC tissues compared with adjacent liver tissues. In addition, CDHR5 expression was significantly correlated with tumor numbers, tumor size, and TNM stage. CDHR5 expression was then shown to be an independent risk factor for survival of HCC patients by survival analysis. In vitro experiments showed that CDHR5 suppressed the proliferation capacity of HCC cells. Conclusions Taken together, our study not only identified CDHR5 as a novel prognostic biomarker in HCC but also provided evidence that CDHR5 can inhibit HCC cell proliferation.