TTC36, a novel chaperone of heat shock protein 70, functions as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most devastating human diseases characterized by high incidences and mortality rates. However, there is still limited knowledge of molecular mechanisms leading to the development of HCC. By using transcriptome sequencing profiling of non-tumor and HCC samples, a subset of differentially expressed genes have been identified. One of those genes, the TTC36 gene is down-regulated in HCC tissues compared with non-tumor tissues. Reduced expression of TTC36 is correlated with advanced tumor stages and decreased overall survival. Ectopic expression of TTC36 in HCC cells show decreased tumorigenic ability in vitro and vivo function assays. Silencing TTC36 expression with short hairpin RNA had the opposite effects. We had found that TTC36 promoted apoptosis of HCC cells by interacting with heat shock protein 70 and induced the activation of caspases-9, caspase-3 and PARP. Further characterization of TTC36 may provide a novel prognostic biomarker for HCC and shed light on better management of HCC treatment. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting.