Expression of HIP/PAP in hepatocellular carcinoma and effect of SiRNA on migration and invasion in HCC cells

Objective: To investigate the expression of HIP/PAP in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and explore its role in migration and invasion of HCC. Methods: The expression of HIP/PAP in HCC tissue and corresponding adjacent noncancerous tissue was assessed by IHC, RT-PCR and Western blot. The correlation between clinicopathological features and HIP/PAP expression was analyzed. The role of HIP/PAP on invasion and migration of HCC cells was observed by RNA interference, wound healing and Transwell assay. Results: Both mRNA and protein expression of HIP/PAP was upregulated in HCC tissues compared to tumor-adjacent tissue and correlated with poor tumor differentiation, advanced tumor stage and vascular invasion. HIP/PAP expression was also upregulated in HCC cells, and silencing its expression by specific siRNA could inhibit the invasion and migration of HCC cells. Conclusions: HIP/APA is overexpressed in HCC and contributes to the migration and invasion of HCC cells.