C7 peptide inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis by targeting the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway.

C7 peptide inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis by targeting the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway. Cancer Biol Ther. 2019 Aug 23;:1-13 Authors: Zhao M, Wang Y, Liu Y, Zhang W, Liu Y, Yang X, Cao Y, Wang S Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), characterized by a high rate of metastasis and recurrence after surgery, is caused by malignant proliferation of hepatocytes with epigenetic and/or genetic mutations. In particular, abnormal activation of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-/c-mesenchymal-epithelial transition receptor (c-Met) axis is closely associated with HCC metastasis. Unfortunately, effective treatments or drugs that target the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway are still in the research pipeline. Here, a c-Met inhibitor named the C7 peptide, which can inhibit both HGF and c-Met, can significantly inhibit HGF-induced (but not EGF-induced) cell migration and suppress the phosphorylation of c-Met, Akt and Erk1/2. Moreover, the C7 peptide can also significantly suppress tumor metastasis in nude mice and the phosphorylation of c-Met. Together, our current findings, demonstrated that the C7 peptide can inhibit HGF-induced cancer cell migration and invasion through the inhibition of Akt and Erk1/2. Identification of a peptide that can block HGF/c-Met signaling provides new insight into the mechanism of HCC and future clinical treatments. PMID: 31441380 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Cancer Biology and Therapy - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Cancer Biol Ther Source Type: research