Overexpression of CTNND1 in hepatocellular carcinoma promotes carcinous characters through activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence supports the association of CTNND1 with tumor development and progression. However, the mechanism and clinical significance of CTNND1 deregulation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. In this study, we aim to investigate the role of CTNND1 in HCC. METHODS: qRT-PCR and immunohistochemical analyses were used to measure the levels of CTNND1 in HCC specimens and HCC cell lines. CTNND1 and shCTNND1 were transfected into HCC cell lines to investigate its role in HCC. Cell migration and invasion were measured by Transwell and Matrigel analyses in vitro. In vivo metastasis assays were performed in SCID mice. RESULTS: In clinical HCC samples, we found that CTNND1 expression was significantly up-regulated in cancer lesions compared with paired normal liver tissues. By silencing or overexpressing CTNND1 in HCC cells, we found that CTNND1 could promote cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. An in-vivo assay showed that CTNND1 dramatically promoted HCC cell tumor formation and metastasis. Moreover, CTNND1 promoted HCC metastasis, at least in part, by indirectly enhancing Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Consistent with these results, the expression of CTNND1 was positively correlated with β-catenin, WNT11, Cyclin D1, and BMP7 expression in human HCC specimens. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides evidence that CTNND1 functions as a novel tumor oncogene in HCC, and may be a potential therapeutic target for HCC management. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13046-016-0344-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.