Chromodomain helicase/ATPase DNA-binding protein 1-like gene (CHD1L) has been characterized to be a driver gene in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the intrinsic connections between CHD1L and intestinal dysbacteriosis-related inflammation reaction in HCC progression remain incompletely understood. In this study, a specific correlation between CHD1L and nonmuscle isoform of myosin light chain kinase (nmMLCK/nmMYLK), a newly identified molecule associated NF-κB signaling transduction, was disclosed in HCC. CHD1L promotes nmMYLK expression and prevents lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced tumor cell death. In vitro experiment demonstrated that overexpressed nmMYLK is essential for CHD1L to maintain HCC cell alive, while knocking down nmMYLK significantly attenuate the oncogenic roles of CHD1L. Mechanism analysis revealed that nmMYLK can prevent Caspase-8 from combining with MyD88, an important linker of TLRs signaling pathway, while, knocking down nmMYLK facilitate the MyD88 combines with Caspase-8 and lead to the proteolytic cascade of Caspase as well as the consequent cell apoptosis. Mechanism analysis showed that CHD1L promotes the nmMYLK expression potentially through upregulating the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins A2/B1 (hnRNP A2/B1) expression, which can bind to myosin light chain kinase (MYLK) pre-mRNA and lead to the regnant translation of nmMYLK. In summary, this work characterizes a previously unknown role of CHD1L in preventing LPS-induced tumor cell death through activating hnRNP A2/B1-nmMYLK axis. Further inhibition of CHD1L and its downstream signaling could be a novel promising strategy in HCC treatment.
© 2021. The Author(s).