Inhibition of CTRP6 prevented survival and migration in hepatocellular carcinoma through inactivating the AKT signaling pathway

C1qTNF-related proteins (CTRPs) are a member of the adiponectin paralogs family, which are implicated in regulation of various biological processes. Recently, CTRP6 was found upregulated in human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). However, the specific roles and molecular mechanisms of CTRP6 in HCC remain unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of CTRP6 on the vitality, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. Firstly, we measured the levels of CTRP6 in HCC tissues and cell lines. Our results showed that CTRP6 was markedly upregulated in HCC tissues and Hep3B cells. Then, the CTRP6 siRNA was transfected into Hep3B cells. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry analysis revealed that silencing CTRP6-induced cell viability inhibition, and apoptosis. The wound-healing and transwell assay showed that CTRP6 deficiency suppressed the migration and invasion of Hep3B cells. Meanwhile, the AKT phosphorylation level was reduced by CTRP6 silencing. Next, Hep3B cells were pretreated with insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) (an activator of AKT), and then transfected with CTRP6 siRNA, and the cell vitality, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were measured again. We found that all these alterations caused by CTRP6 inhibition could be reversed by IGF-1 treatment. Taken together, CTRP6 suppression blocked cell survival, migration, and invasion and promoted cell apoptosis through inactivating the AKT signaling pathway. Our findings present a novel potential molecular target for HCC therapy.