Abstract:
Objective To explore the mechanism of YTH domain family protein 1(YTHDF1) promoting tumor stemness of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to promote hepatocellular carcinoma progression.
Methods Western blotting was used to detect the expression of YTHDF1 protein in 6 pairs of liver cancer tissues and adjacent liver tissues. Western-blotting, RIP-PCR, and qRT-PCR were used to detect the expression of β-catenin and its downstream molecules. qRT-PCR, sphere-forming assay, cell proliferation, and colony formation assays, and CCK8 assay were used to detect the carcinogenic effect of YTHDF1 in HCC cells. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to analyze the relationship between YTHDF1 and the clinical prognosis of HCC.
Results The expression of YTHDF1 protein in HCC tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues (P < 0.001).The expression of β-catenin and its downstream molecules increased. The stemness markers of HCC cells were significantly up-regulated and the proliferation ability was significantly enhanced. Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that patients with high expression of YTHDF1 had a poor prognosis.
Conclusions The high expression of YTHDF1 in HCC tissue promotes the expression of β-catenin and its downstream molecules, the stemness of HCC cells, and adversely affects the prognosis of HCC patients.