Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effects of CLEC5A expression level on cell proliferation, migration and invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and explore the role of CLEC5A in the tumorigenesis and progression of HCC. Methods The expression level of CLEC5A was detected in 50 pairs of HCC and adjacent tissues using immunohistochemical staining, and its association with clinicopathological parameters of HCC patients was analyzed. Cultured HCC cell line SK-HEP-1 was transfected with a lentiviral vector overexpressing CLEC5A, and the transfection efficiency was verified using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blotting. The changes in proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of the transfected cells were analyzed using CCK-8, 5-ethynyl-29-deoxyuridine (EdU) and Transwell assays, and EMT of the cells was determined using Western blotting. Results The protein expression level of CLEC5A was significantly lower in HCC tissues than in the adjacent tissues (P<0.001). The expression level of CLEC5A was significantly correlated with tumor size (P=0.008), tumor number (P=0.010), histological differentiation (P=0.016), microvascular invasion (P=0.024) and BCLC stage (P=0.040). In SK-HEP-1 cells, overexpression of CLEC5A obviously inhibited the cell proliferation, migration and invasion and reversed EMT phenotype of the cells. Conclusion CLEC5A is a potential HCC suppressor gene and may serve as a promising therapeutic target for HCC.

Key words: hepatocellular carcinoma; cell proliferation; cell invasion; epithelial-mesenchymal transition