Cell Death Discovery (Aug 2022)

Ribosomal protein L22-like1 (RPL22L1) mediates sorafenib sensitivity via ERK in hepatocellular carcinoma

  • Dongmei Zhang,
  • Yunzhen Zhou,
  • Yanan Ma,
  • Ping Jiang,
  • Hongchao Lv,
  • Sijia Liu,
  • Yu Mu,
  • Chong Zhou,
  • Shan Xiao,
  • Guohua Ji,
  • Peng Liu,
  • Ning Zhang,
  • Donglin Sun,
  • Haiming Sun,
  • Nan Wu,
  • Yan Jin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41420-022-01153-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Precision medicine in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) relies on validated biomarkers that help subgroup patients for targeted treatment. Here, we identified a novel candidate oncogene, ribosomal protein L22-like1 (RPL22L1), which was markedly elevated in HCC, contributed to HCC malignancy and adverse patient survival. Functional studies indicated RPL22L1 overexpression accelerated cell proliferation, migration, invasion and sorafenib resistance. Mechanism studies revealed that RPL22L1 activated ERK to induce atypical epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) progress. Importantly, the ERK inhibitor (ERKi) could potentiate sorafenib efficiency in RPL22L1-high HCC cells. In summary, these data uncover RPL22L1 is a potential marker to guide precision therapy for utilizing ERKi to enhance the sorafenib efficacy in RPL22L1-high HCC patients.