pir-hsa-216911 inhibit pyroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma by suppressing TLR4 initiated GSDMD activation
Zhouxiang Liao, Lichao Yang, Xiaojing Cheng, Xuejing Huang, Qi Zhang, Daoqiang Wen, Zhenyu Song, Yasi Li, Sha Wen, Yongfeng Li, Meizhen Ou, Zhangnan Huang, Tianqi Liu, Min He
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global health concern, ranking as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. However, the role of piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) in HCC processes has not been extensively explored. Through small RNA sequencing, our study identified a specific piRNA, pir-hsa-216911, which is highly expressed in HCC cells. This overexpression of pir-hsa-216911 promotes HCC cell invasion and inhibits cell death, particularly pyroptosis. Knocking out pir-hsa-216911 led to increased cell pyroptosis activity, resulting in the activation of caspase-1 and GSDMD. Further analysis revealed that pir-hsa-216911 targets and suppresses TLR4, a key gene associated with pyroptosis in HCC. In the Huh7 cell line, pir-hsa-216911 knockout confirmed its role in suppressing the TLR4/NFκB/NLRP3 pathway by silencing TLR4. Knocking out pir-hsa-216911 significantly inhibited the formation of Huh7 xenograft tumor. In HCC patients, pir-hsa-216911 was highly expressed in HCC tumor samples with steatosis, suppressing TLR4 expression and inhibiting GSDMD activation. This study introduces pir-hsa-216911 as a new high-expressing piRNA in HCC, which inhibits pyroptosis by silencing TLR4 to suppress GSDMD activation. These findings have significant implications for HCC molecular subtyping and as a potential target for cancer therapy.