BST2 Promotes Tumor Growth via Multiple Pathways in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Xiaoguang Xu, Yu Wang, Fangxi Xue, Encui Guan, Feng Tian, Jian Xu, Hongjin Zhang
Abstract
Bone marrow stromal antigen 2 (BST2) is a transmembrane glycoprotein and plays an essential role in innate immunity. Here we firstly found that BST2 expression was significantly elevated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues. High BST2 was closely related to the larger tumor size and more tumor number. Moreover, HCC patients with higher expression of BST2 had poorer overall survival and BST2 was identified as an independent unfavorable prognosis factor. Finally, we demonstrated that BST2 can promote proliferation capacity of tumor cells. In conclusion, HCC patients with higher BST2 expression were more predisposed to poorer clinical symptoms and unfavorable prognosis.