Salvianolic acid B targets mortalin and inhibits the migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma via the RECK/STAT3 pathway

BACKGROUND: Tumor migration and invasion is a complex and diverse process that involves the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of tumor cells and degradation of the extracellular matrix by matrix metalloproteases (MMPs). Mortalin is an important oncogene. It has been reported to play an important role in tumor migration and invasion through various signaling pathways, but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. METHODS: Here, we investigated the role of mortalin in the migration of the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines HepG2 and HCCLM3. RESULTS: The overexpression of mortalin in HepG2 cells decreased the protein level of reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with Kazal motifs (RECK) and activated the phosphorylation and acetylation of STAT3, thereby up-regulating matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and promoting cell migration and invasion. In contrast, in HCCLM3 cells, mortalin knockdown increased the expression of RECK, inhibited the STAT3 pathway and the activity of MMP9, and inhibited cell migration and invasion. Furthermore, we found that salvianolic acid B, a caffeic acid phenethyl ester analog, specifically bound to mortalin and increased the degradation of mortalin proteasomes through ubiquitination, thereby up-regulating RECK, inhibiting STAT3, and finally inhibiting the migration and invasion of HCC cells. CONCLUSION: Our work suggested that mortalin is a potential therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02367-z.