hMex-3A is associated with poor prognosis and contributes to the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background:HMex-3A,an RNA-binding protein,was found to be associated with tumorigenesis.However,the roles of h Mex-3A in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)progression remained unclear.Methods:The different expression of h Mex-3A between HCC tissues and non-tumor tissues was evaluated using The Cancer Genome Atlas database.Thereafter,the h Mex-3A expression was evaluated in HCC tissues using Western blotting and q RT-PCR.Immunohistochemistry was performed to investigate the association between h Mex-3 A level and clinicopathological features including prognosis in HCC patients.In addition,we used si-h Mex-3A to knockdown h Mex-3A in HCC cells to test Cell Counting Kit-8,colony formation,cell migration and invasion.Results:The h Mex-3A expression was significantly elevated in HCC tissues.Analysis of the clinicopathological parameters suggested that h Mex-3A expression was significantly associated with pathological grade(P=0.019)and TNM stage(P=0.001)in HCC.Moreover,univariate and multivariate Coxregression analyses revealed that high h Mex-3A expression(HR=1.491,95%CI:1.107–2.007;P=0.009)was an independent risk factor for overall survival in HCC patients.Finally,we confirmed that si-h Mex-3A could significantly inhibit HCC cell proliferation,migration,and invasion in vitro.Conclusions:HMex-3A may contribute to the progression of HCC and might be used as a novel therapeutic target and prognostic marker in HCC.