1. Academic Validation
  2. Heparanase induces necroptosis of microvascular endothelial cells to promote the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Heparanase induces necroptosis of microvascular endothelial cells to promote the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

  • Cell Death Discov. 2021 Feb 17;7(1):33. doi: 10.1038/s41420-021-00411-5.
Xiaopeng Chen  # 1 Bin Cheng  # 2 3 Dafei Dai 2 Yuhai Wu 2 Zhiwen Feng 2 Chaogang Tong 4 Xiangming Wang 5 Jun Zhao 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 First Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, 241001, Wuhu, China. drchenxp@wnmc.edu.cn.
  • 2 First Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, 241001, Wuhu, China.
  • 3 Department of Hepatobiliary surgery, Huangshan People's Hospital, 245000, Huangshan, China.
  • 4 Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Chaohu Hospital, Anhui Medical University, 238000, Hefei, China.
  • 5 Department of Pathology, Affiliated Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, 241001, Wuhu, China.
  • 6 Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, 241001, Wuhu, China.
  • # Contributed equally.
Abstract

Heparanase (HPSE) is a kind of multifunctional extracellular hydrolase, and related to metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Endothelial Necroptosis promotes the metastasis of Cancer cells. It is not clear whether HPSE could mediate Necroptosis of microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs) to promote HCC metastasis. Here we found HPSE expression was up-regulated in HCC tissues and its over-expression was correlated with multiple tumor foci, microvascular invasion, and poor outcome of HCC patients. Non-contact co-culture experiments showed high-expressed HPSE in HCC cells mediated the Necroptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and elevated the expression levels of syndecan-1 (SDC-1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in vitro. As a result of Necroptosis, trans-endothelial migration (TEM) of HCC cells was increased. Conversely, both HPSE and SDC-1 knockdowns reversed Necroptosis and decreased TNF-α expression level, while HPSE over-expression increased SDC-1 and TNF-α expression and aggravated Necroptosis. Animal experiments found that the nude mice, intraperitoneally injected with HPSE high expressing HCC cells, had obvious Necroptosis of MVECs and high intrahepatic metastasis rate, which could be relieved by inhibitor of Necroptosis. Morever, HPSE elevated the expression levels of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) rather than nuclear factor kappa B in vitro. Our data suggest that HPSE induces Necroptosis of MVECs to promote the metastasis of HCC by activating HPSE/SDC-1/TNF-α axis and p38 MAPK pathway.

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