• Jing Kong, Xiaoping Liu, Xiangqian Li, Jinsheng Wu, Ning Wu, Jun Chen, and Fang Fang.
• Faculty of Life Science and Chemical Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, 1 Meicheng Road East, Huai'an, 223003, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China. cpukj@163.com.
• Hepatol Int. 2016 May 1; 10 (3): 493-500.

BackgroundPokemon, a master oncogene crucial for the tumorigenicity and progression of a variety of cancers, has been demonstrated to enhance the proliferation and survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the contribution of Pokemon to the invasiveness of HCC has not yet been studied.MethodsIn this study, we employed HCC cells to investigate the role of Pokemon in the invasion of HCC with multidisciplinary approaches.ResultsPokemon overexpression was found to be closely associated with invasion and intrahepatic metastasis of HCC in clinical specimens. Suppression of Pokemon attenuated the invasion of HCC cells by in vitro transwell and wound-healing assays. Myocyte enhancer factor 2D (MEF2D), an oncogene that can promote the invasiveness of HCC, was found to be underexpressed during Pokemon silencing in HCC cells. Restoration of MEF2D abolished the effect of Pokemon downregulation on the migration of HCC cells. Further experiments verified that Pokemon binds two putative recognition sites located within the upstream region of the MEF2D promoter and enhances its transcription. The association between Pokemon and MEF2D was further confirmed in HCC specimens. Animal experiments further confirmed that Pokemon downregulation attenuated the metastasis of HCC cells in mice.ConclusionCollectively, Pokemon was found to enhance the migration and invasion of HCC by increasing MEF2D expression. Thus, targeting Pokemon and MEF2D may be an effective strategy to suppress the metastasis of HCC.

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