Desmocollin-2 inhibits cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma via the ERK/c-MYC signaling pathway

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers around the world with a poor prognosis. The main reason for poor prognosis is early stage HCC is inconspicuous so it is difficult to detect and effective treatment strategies are lacking for advanced HCC. In this context, novel molecular targets are urgently needed for the diagnosis and therapy of HCC. In this study, we investigated the expression level, biological function, and relative mechanism of Desmocollin-2(DSC2) in HCC. DSC2 expression levels were decreased significantly in HCC cell lines SMMC-7721(7721), Huh7, HCC-LM3(LM3), and MHCC-97H(97H), especially in LM3 cells, compared with human liver cell line L02(L02). DSC2 overexpression in LM3 cells could inhibit the proliferation (in vitro and in vivo), colony formation, migration, and invasion abilities of HCC cells, and promote cell apoptosis, while DSC2 inhibition in 7721 cells performed the opposite effect. Consistent with these results, regulating DSC2 expression in 7721 and LM3 cells could affect the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins (Bax, Bcl-2, c-Caspase-3, Caspase-3, Caspase-8, and Survivin) and cell cycle-related proteins (Cyclin D1, Cyclin B1, CDK1, and CDK2). Furthermore, DSC2 expression was significantly negatively correlated with the levels of p-ERK and c-MYC in both LM3 and 7721 cell lines. These findings confirmed that DSC2 overexpression could inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities while promoting apoptosis of HCC cells via the ERK/c-MYC signaling pathway. In a conclusion, DSC2 was a tumor suppressor with low expression in liver cancer.