Nosip is a potential therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Junjie Gao; Dandan Yang; Zheng Huang; Xueshan Pan; Ruoxue Cao; Chaoqun Lian; Jia Ma; Yuyun Li; Zhiwei Wang; Jun Xia

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107353

Nosip is a potential therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

iScience. 2023 Jul 10;26(8):107353. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107353. eCollection 2023 Aug 18.

Authors

Junjie Gao^{1

2}, Dandan Yang³, Zheng Huang¹, Xueshan Pan⁴, Ruoxue Cao⁵, Chaoqun Lian⁴, Jia Ma⁴, Yuyun Li⁶, Zhiwei Wang⁴, Jun Xia⁴

Affiliations

¹ Bengbu Medical College Key Laboratory of Cancer Research and Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis, School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu 233030, Anhui, China.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu 241001, Anhui, China.
³ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Immunology in Chronic Diseases, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu 233030, Anhui, China.
⁴ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu 233030, Anhui, China.
⁵ Department of Laboratory, Lianyungang Second People's Hospital, Lianyungang 222000, Jiangsu, China.
⁶ Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics, School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui 233030, China.

Abstract

Nitric oxide synthase-interacting protein (Nosip) interacts with nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and regulates NO synthesis and release, which participates in various critical physiological and pathological processes. However, the role of Nosip in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. In this study, Nosip expression was found to be elevated in HCC tissues and cells. Nosip siRNA transfection inhibited the proliferation and motility of HCC cells and promoted apoptosis. In contrast, overexpression of Nosip promoted proliferation and migration and invasion, and inhibited apoptosis of HCC cells. As a natural compound, quercetin exerted the effect of inhibiting the proliferation and motility of HCC cells, and this anticancer activity probably via repressing the expression of Nosip. Our results suggest that Nosip could act as an oncogene in the progression of HCC and that quercetin may be a potential natural compound for treating HCC by inhibiting the expression of Nosip.

Keywords: Cancer; Therapeutics.