Overexpression of anillin is related to poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Anillin(ANLN) is required for tumor growth. It has been proven that knockdown of ANLN effectively reduces the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) in transgenic mice. However, the functional role of ANLN in HCC patients remains to be elucidated. Methods: Both microarray and TCGA project were used for the analyses of ANLN expression and regulation in HCC. The effect of ANLN on proliferation and cell cycle was detected by CCK-8, colony formation assay and flow cytometry. ANLN expression was measured by immunohistochemistry. Correlation between ANLN expression and clinicopathological features was assessed by Pearson Chi-square test and 5-year overall survival after liver resection was evaluated by Kaplan–Meier method. Results: Increased copy number, decreased methylation levels in the Cp G island and upregulated histone hypermethylation of ANLN were found in HCC. Knockdown of ANLN inhibited proliferation and induced G2/M phase arrest in SMMC-7721 cells. ANLN was mainly expressed in the nucleus and showed significantly higher expression levels in cancerous tissues than those in paired adjacent tissues. Moreover, nuclear ANLN expression levels in HCC metastases were significantly higher than those in primary HCC. The results of Cox proportional hazards regression model suggested that ANLN nuclear expression in HCC was an independent risk factor for poor 5-year overall survival of patients after liver resection. Conclusions: ANLN is a potential therapeutic target for HCC. Patients with nuclear ANLN overexpression in HCC tissue may need adjuvant therapy after liver resection.