Peroxiredoxin I (Prx I), an antioxidant enzyme, has multiple functions in human cancer. However, the role of Prx I in hepatic tumorigenesis has not been characterized. Here we investigated the relevance and underlying mechanism of Prx I in hepatic tumorigenesis. Prx I increased in tumors of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients that aligned with overexpression of oncogenic H-ras. Prx I also increased in H-rasG12V transfected HCC cells and liver tumors of H-rasG12V transgenic (Tg) mice, indicating that Prx I may be involved in Ras-induced hepatic tumorigenesis. When Prx I was knocked down or deleted in HCC-H-rasG12V cells or H-rasG12V Tg mice, cell colony or tumor formation was significantly reduced that was associated with downregulation of pERK pathway as well as increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced DNA damage and cell death. Overexpressing Prx I markedly increased Ras downstream pERK/FoxM1/Nrf2 signaling pathway and inhibited oxidative damage in HCC cells and H-rasG12V Tg mice. In this study, we found Nrf2 was transcriptionally activated by FoxM1, and Prx I was activated by the H-rasG12V/pERK/FoxM1/Nrf2 pathway and suppressed ROS-induced hepatic cancer-cell death along with formation of a positive feedback loop with Ras/ERK/FoxM1/Nrf2 to promote hepatic tumorigenesis.
Keywords: H-rasG12V; gene regulation; hepatic tumorigenesis; peroxiredoxin I; reactive oxygen species.