Objective

2

To study the correlation between Vimentin and hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） and the mechanism of Jianpi Yiqi prescription against HCC through Vimentin.

Method

2

Correlation between Vimentin and HCC was analyzed based on the cancer genome atlas（TCGA）， clinical proteomic tumor analysis consortium（CPTAC）， STRING， and Cytoscape. SD rats were randomized into normal group （normal saline，

ig

， once/day， 4 weeks）， model group （normal saline，

ig

， once/day， 4 weeks）， low-dose， medium-dose， and high-dose （5.25， 10.5， 21 g·kg

-1

，

ig

， once/day， 4 weeks） JianpiYiqi prescription groups， signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3） inhibition group （C188-9， 4.5 mg·kg

-1

，

ip

， once/day， 4 weeks）， and glycoprotein 130 （gp130） inhibition group （SC144， 4.5 mg·kg

-1

，

ip

， once/day， 4 weeks）， 10 rats in each group. Diethylnitrosamine （DEN， 70 mg·kg

-1

body weight，

ip

） was injected in rats except the normal group to induce HCC. After the modeling， administration began. After last administration， Real-time polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） was performed to determine Vimentin mRNA level in rat liver tissue. Caspase-3 activity in liver tissue was detected by colorimetry， and expression of Rho kinase （ROCK）1， ROCK2， aurora kinase B （AURKB）， Zinc-finger protein 148 （ZNF148）/zinc-binding protein-89 （ZBP-89）， STAT3， p-STAT3， total Vimentin， and phosphorylated （p）-Vimentin in liver tissue and Vimentin in liver tissue nucleus detected by Western blot. Serum Vimentin concentration was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）.

Result

2

Vimentin mRNA level was high in tissues from HCC patients with different cancer stages （stage Ⅰ-Ⅳ）， different pathological grades （G

1

-G

3

）， no regional lymph node metastasis （N0）， and different subtypes （

P

<

0.01）. Vimentin mRNA expression was higher in tissues from patients with lymph node metastasis than in patients without lymph node metastasis and normal samples. Vimentin protein level was decreased in HCC tissues （

P

<

0.01）. Vimentin gene has 4 mutations which can induce change in the primary structure of Vimentin protein and patients with Vimentin gene mutation had short disease free survival time （

P

<

0.01）. The mRNA expression of Vimentin was negatively associated with HCC cell purity （

P

<

0.01） but was positively associated with the infiltration levels of cancer-associated fibroblasts， M2 macrophages， myeloid dendritic cell and other immune cells in tumor microenvironment （

P

<

0.01）. Association analysis results showed that the expression of Vimentin was correlated with the STAT3 expression in HCC tissues （

P

<

0.01）. As for the animal experiment， Vimentin mRNA level and protein levels of total Vimentin and p-Vimentin in liver tssue， Vimentin protein level in liver tissue nucleus， Vimentin in rat serum， ROCK2， AURKB， STAT3 and p-STAT3 in liver tissues were up-regulated （

P

<

0.01） and protein level of negative regulator ZBP-89 was reduced in the model group （

P

<

0.01） compared with those in the normal group. Activity of Caspase-3 in liver tissue increased and the ROCK1 protein level was increased in the model group compared with those in the normal group. STAT3 inhibitor， gp130 inhibitor， and medium-dose and high-dose Jianpi Yiqi prescription all can reduce the secretory Vimentin protein in serum， protein levels of total Vimentin and p-Vimentin in liver tissues， and Vimentin in liver tissue nucleus， and the protein levels of STAT3/Vimentin signaling pathway-related molecules， such as STAT3， p-STAT3， ROCK2， and AURKB and up-regulate the protein level of negative regulator ZBP-89 and activity of Caspase-3 （

P

<

0.05，

P

<

0.01）. Effect of medium-dose or high-dose Jianpi Yiqi prescription on Vimentin mRNA expression， STAT3 protein expression， ZBP-89 protein expression， ROCK2 protein expression， AURKB protein expression and Caspase-3 activity was not significantly different from that of STAT3 inhibitor.

Conclusion

2

Vimentin， an important inflammatory molecule， is closely related to the occurrence and development of HCC and its expression， subcellular location and function may be affected by cancer-associated fibroblasts， M2 macrophages， myeloid dendritic cell， and IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway， particularly by STAT3 molecule. Jianpi Yiqi prescription may exert therapeutic effect on HCC via regulating Vimentin through the STAT3/Vimentin signaling pathway.