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NEU4 inhibits motility of HCC cells by cleaving sialic acids on CD44

Oncogene volume 40, pages 5427–5440 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an extremely metastatic tumor. Sialic acids (SAs) are associated with cancer development and metastasis. NEU4 is a sialidase that removes SAs from glycoconjugates, while the function of the NEU4 in HCC has not been clearly explored. In our research, we found the NEU4 expression was significantly down-regulated in HCC tissues, which was correlated with high grades and poor outcomes of HCC. The NEU4 expression could be regulated by histone acetylation. In the functional analysis of NEU4, the cell motility was inhibited when NEU4 was overexpressed, and restored when NEU4 expression was down-regulated. Similarly, NEU4 over-expressed HCC cells showed less metastasis in athymic nude mice. Further study revealed that NEU4 could inhibit cell migration by enzymatic decomposition of SAs. Our results verified a NEU4 active site (NEU4E235) and overexpressing inactivates NEU4E235A that weakens the inhibition ability to cell migration. Further, 70 kinds of specific interacting proteins of NEU4 including CD44 were identified through mass spectrum. Moreover, the α2,3-linked SAs on CD44 were decreased and the hyaluronic acid (HA) binding ability was increased when NEU4 over-expressed or activated. Additionally, the mutation of CD44 with six N-glycosylation sites showed less sensibility to NEU4 on cell migration compared with wild-type CD44. In summary, our results revealed the mechanism of low expression of NEU4 in HCC and its inhibitory effect on cell migration by removal of SAs on CD44, which may provide new treatment strategies to control the motility and metastasis of HCC.

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Fig. 1: NEU4 is significantly downregulated in HCC.
Fig. 2: NEU4 expression could be inhibited by HDAC1/2-mediated histone deacetylation in HCC cells.
Fig. 3: Exogenous expression of NEU4 could inhibit the motility of HCC cells.
Fig. 4: NEU4 inhibits experimental pulmonary metastasis in nude mice.
Fig. 5: NEU4 suppresses the motility of HCC cells, depending on its enzyme activity.
Fig. 6: NEU4 inhibits the motility of cells by regulating SAs in cell membranes.
Fig. 7: NEU4 inhibits the cell motility by cleaving the SAs of CD44.
Fig. 8: Schematic diagram of NEU4 regulation and function in HCC.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31771627).

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  1. School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang Provence, China, 150008

    Xiaoqing Zhang, Peng Dou, Muhammad Luqman Akhtar, Fei Liu, Xibo Hu, Lijun Yang, Depeng Yang, Xiaohan Zhang, Yiqun Li, Shupei Qiao, Kai Li, Ran Tang, Yue Ma, Qixiang Cheng, Yan Bai, Fang Han, Huan Nie & Yu Li

  2. The third affiliated hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Provence, China, 150006

    Chao Zhan

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Zhang, X., Dou, P., Akhtar, M.L. et al. NEU4 inhibits motility of HCC cells by cleaving sialic acids on CD44. Oncogene 40, 5427–5440 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01955-7

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