Decreased expression of PBLD correlates with poor prognosis and functions as a tumor suppressor in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Recent accumulating genomic and proteomic data suggested that decreased expression of phenazine biosynthesis-like domain-containing protein (PBLD) was frequently involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, there is lack of systematical investigation focusing on its expression pattern, clinical relevance, and biological function. Here, we found that PBLD was frequently decreased in HCC tissues relative to adjacent non-tumorigenic liver tissues. This decreased expression was significantly associated with poor tumor differentiation and advanced tumor stage. Kaplan–Meier analysis further showed that recurrence-free survival and overall survival were significantly worse among patients with low PBLD expression. Moreover, multivariate analyses revealed that PBLD was an independent predictor of OS and RFS. This prognostic value of PBLD was further validated in another independent cohort. We also found PBLD inhibited HCC cell growth and invasion in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, forced expression of PBLD influenced multiple downstream genes related to MAPK, NF-κB, EMT, and angiogenesis signaling pathways. PBLD deletion was an independent predictor of poor prognosis in patients with HCC. Elevated PBLD expression may reduce HCC cell growth and invasion via inactivation of several tumorigenesis-related signaling pathways.