STC2 is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma and promotes cell proliferation and migration in vitro

The human glycoprotein, stanniocalcin 2 (STC2) plays multipleroles in several tumor types, however, its function and clinicalsignificance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear.In this study, we detected STC2 expression by quantitativereal-time PCR and found STC2 was upregulated in HCC tissues,correlated with tumor size and multiplicity of HCC. Ectopicexpression of STC2 markedly promoted HCC cell proliferationand colony formation, while silencing of endogenous STC2resulted in a reduced cell growth by cell cycle delay in G0/G1phase. Western blot analysis demonstrated that STC2 couldregulate the expression of cyclin D1 and activate extracellularsignal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) in a dominant-positivemanner. Transwell chamber assay also indicated altered patternsof STC2 expression had an important effect on cell migration.Our findings suggest that STC2 functions as a potentialoncoprotein in the development and progression of HCC as wellas a promising molecular target for HCC therapy.