Promotion of the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2 through cell cycle regulation

Abstract:

Objective To investigate the impact of acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2（ACC2） on the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells（HCCs） as well as the potential mechanism of action.Methods The expression of ACC2 in the liver tissue of patients with HCC and its prognostic significance were analyzed in The Cancer Genome Atlas， Gene Expression Omnibus，and Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium databases. The ACC2-knockdown cell lines of HCCs were established using the CRISPR-Cas9 system；the changes in proliferation，migration，and cell cycle of the HCCs were observed. The expression of cell cycle-related proteins was measured using Western blot assay.Results ACC2 showed low expression in the HCC tissue（P<0.05） and was associated with unfavorable prognoses（P<0.05）. In vitro cell functional experiments revealed that the decrease in ACC2 expression significantly enhanced the proliferation and migration of the HCCs（P<0.05）. Flow cytometric analysis of cell cycles proved that ACC2 knockdown promoted the G1/S phase transition（P<0.05），with decreased expression of CyclinE2 and p21 and increased expression of CyclinA2 and p-RB among the cell cycle-related proteins.Conclusion ACC2 promotes the proliferation and migration of HCCs，which is achieved by accelerating the G1-to-S phase transition of the HCCs.