Accumulation of AGO2 facilitates tumor proliferation and metastasis through upregulating Survivin, Vimentin and Snail in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Background：Argonaute 2 (AGO2), a typical member of the Ago gene family, plays a pivotal role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumorgenesis through regulating the short interfering RNA-mediated gene silencing. However, the underlined mechanism needs clarified. Herein, we found that AGO2 was frequently upregulated in human HCC cancerous tissues compared with non-cancerous tissues. Methods: Clinical analyses were performed to determine the relation between the expression level of AGO2 and prognosis in HCC patients. By using CRISPR/Cas9 approach in SMMC-7721 cells and establishing xenograft model in nude mice, we further identified the role of AGO2 in HCC. Gene expression microarray analysis was used to reveal the changes of gene expression profile mediated by AGO2 depletion in SMMC-7721 cells. Results: We observed that the overexpression of AGO2 was associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. The knockout of AGO2 inhibited tumor cell proliferation and metastasis in vivo and in vitro. We also identified that AGO2 facilitates HCC tumorigenesis through modulating Survivin, Vimentin and Snail expression. Conclusions: Therefore, this study not only demonstrates that accumulation of AGO2 promotes cell proliferation and metastasis in HCC, but also provides a novel molecular mechanism in HCC progression.