Abstract: Objective:To explore the relationships between ELK-3 and the clinicopathologic features of the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the effects of ELK-3 on the migration and invasion abilities of human HCC HepG2 cells,and to clarify their mechanisms. Methods:The paraffin-embedded sections of 80 cases of carcinoma tissue and 49 cases of para-carcinoma tissue,fresh postoperative specimens of 18 cases of carcinoma tissue and para-carcinoma tissue were selected.The expressions of ELK-3 protein in HCC and para-carcinoma normal tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting method.The human HCC HepG2 cells at logarithmic growth phase were divided into control-siRNA and ELK-3-siRNA groups.ELK-3 siRNA was transfected into the HepG2 cells,and the migration and invasion abilities of HepG2 were observed by wound-healing assay and Transwell assay. Results: The immunohistochemistry results showed that compared with the para-carcinoma tissue,the positive expression rate of ELK-3 in the HCC tissue was significantly increased (P<0.05),and the positive expression rate of ELK-3 was positively related to the tumor number,TNM stage,Edmondson classification and venous infiltration of the patients (P<0.05).The Western blotting results showed that compared with the para-carcinoma tissue,the expression level of ELK-3 protein in the HCC tissue of 18 HCC patients were markedly increased (P<0.05).The migration distance and the number of invasion cells in ELK-3-siRNA group were remarkably shorter and less than those in control-siRNA group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The expression level of ELK-3 in HCC tissue is significantly increased,and ELK-3 interference could inhibit the migration and invasion of HepG2 cells,which shows that ELK-3 could exert important effects on the occurrence and development of liver cancer by inhibiting the migration and invasion of HCC cells.

Key words: liver neoplasms, migration, ELK-3, invasion, HepG2 cells