PES1 is overexpressed in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of common cancer with high mortality around the world, especially in China. PES1 was found to be overexpressed and played important roles in several kinds of human cancer, but its roles in HCC development remain unclear. We firstly reported here that PES1 was overexpressed in HCC tissues. Repression of endogenous PES1 suppressed cell proliferation and resulted in cell arrest in G1 phase in two HCC cell lines (HepG2 and HuH-7). Ablation of endogenous PES1 inhibited expressions of cell proliferation- and angiogenesis- related genes. Meanwhile, ablation of endogenous PES1 decreased alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) expression of HepG2 and HuH-7 cells. Re-expression of PES1 in these two kinds of PES1- knockdown cells rescued these effects. In addition, hepatitis B virus x (HBx) protein could upregulate PES1 expression of HCC cells in vitro. These results show that PES1 may have multiple functions in the development of HCC. PES1 may be a potential target for HCC therapy.