Histone-fold centromere protein W (CENP-W) is associated with the biological behavior of hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Centromere protein W (CENP-W), identified as a centromeric component, plays an important role in the cell life cycle. However, how <i>CENPW</i> expression affects biological processes in liver cancer cells remains unknown. In this article, we found that <i>CENPW</i> was overexpressed in liver cancer tissues. Low <i>CENPW</i> expression was correlated with a better prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, compared to high <i>CENPW</i> expression. The results of qRT-PCR and western blot assay showed that <i>CENPW</i> was effectively knocked down in HCC cells using siRNA transfection. Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were inhibited. Cell apoptosis rates were increased. The cells were arrested in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. Subsequently, 127 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified based on RNA-seq data. GO and KEGG enrichment and PPI network analysis were performed. The novel DEGs were found and mainly enriched in nucleosome assembly and the complement system. In summary, our study indicated that overexpression of <i>CENPW</i> implied unfavorable prognosis and <i>CENPW</i> might be the potential predictive biomarker in liver cancer. Downregulation of <i>CENPW</i> might inhibit the HCC developmentby regulating the expression of the molecules in nucleosomes and the complement system.