Background: The tendency of tumor cells to disperse throughout the liver is a distinct feature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nck family adaptor proteins function to regulate actin cytoskeletal reorganization that leads to cell motility. We previously found that Max binding protein (MNT) was differentially expressed in HCC, and interacted with Nck1 by 2-DE. MNT is a protein member of the Myc/Max/Mad network which plays roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, and death. We investigated the effects of MNT on migration of human liver cancer SK-HEP-1 cells to study the migration regulatory role of MNT in HCC cells.
Methods: Interaction between MNT and Nck1 was further validated in hepatoma cells by GST-pull down assay and immunoprecipitation. siRNAs specific to MNT (MNT siRNA) were used to knockdown MNT expression. Western blotting, transwell assay were used to determine the migration potential of cells.
Results: Interaction between MNT and Nck1 was validated in hepatoma cells. MNT knockdown promoted the migration of human liver cancer SK-HEP-1 cells (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: The results suggest that MNT, via interaction with Nck1, inhibits hepatoma cell migration.