Introduction:
Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common type of liver tumor in children and generally associated with a good prognosis, if not presenting as a multifocal, vessel invasive or metastatic tumor. Therefore, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving aggressive growth of HB is necessary.
Methods:
Gene expression was determined by real-time PCR and RNA sequencing. Gain and loss of function experiments were conducted in 4 liver tumor cell lines to assess proliferation, apoptosis, mobility, and self renewal.
Results:
An initial RNA sequencing approach identified TRIM71 as a candidate gene in HB. Expression analysis of a comprehensive patient cohort validated TRIM71 to be significantly upregulated in HB. Overexpression of TRIM71 in low expressing cells led to a significantly reduced proliferation rate and increased self renewal capacity, while leaving apoptosis and mobility unchanged. Conversely, TRIM71 knockdown in high expressing cells led to an increased growth rate and reduced self renewal. Transcriptomic analyses highlight the importance of stemness genes in these biological processes.
Conclusion:
TRIM71 plays a major role in the aggressiveness of HB.
