BACKGROUND: Tripartite motif containing 55 (TRIM55) plays a regulatory role in assembly of sarcomeres, but few studies have assessed its function in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect expression of TRIM55 in tissues samples of HCC patients. Transwell assay was used to study migration and invasion ability of HCC cells. Western blot and immunofluorescence (IF) were used to analyze mechanism of TRIM55 in cell migration and invasion.

RESULTS: We found TRIM55 was downregulated in HCC tissues and was associated with prognosis of HCC patients. Cox regression analysis showed that TRIM55 was an independent risk factor of prognosis of HCC patients. Overexpression of TRIM55 was associated with lower cell migration and invasion ability, and it led to high expression of E-cadherin and low expression of Vimentin and MMP2.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study found TRIM55 is an independent factor affecting the prognosis of HCC patients, and overexpression of TRIM55 inhibits migration and invasion of HCC cells through epithelial-mesenchymal transition and MMP2.

Keywords: Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, Matrix Metalloproteinase 2, Protein Multimerization, Down-Regulation, Liver Neoplasms, Proportional Hazards Models