Knockdown of ribosome RNA processing protein 15 (RRP15) suppresses metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma via LAMC2/FAK pathway

Collectively, RRP15 is highly expressed in HCC tissues and is positively correlated with OS% and DSS% of HCC patients. Knockdown of RRP15 notably prevented the proliferation of HCC cells in vitro and the growth of ectopic transplanted tumors in vivo. Moreover, RRP15 knockdown suppressed the cells migration, invasion and adhesion through reducing the activation of laminin 5/integrin ß4/FAK signaling pathway. The findings of the current study revealed the role of RRP15 in the progression of HCC, and laid a theoretical basis for RRP15 as a potential target for HCC diagnosis or/and treatment. Overall design: The expression of RRP15 in normal liver tissues and HCC tissues were analyzed by using database. RT-qPCR, western blotting, proliferation assay, flow cytometry, transwell assay, cell scratch assay, cell adhesion assay and subcutaneous tumor-formation assay in nude mice were used to detect the effects of RRP15 on the proliferation, migration, invasion and adhesion of HCC cells. The underlying mechanism of RRP15 regulating the progression of HCC was further determined by RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis.