METTL5 enhances the mRNA stability of TPRKB through m6A modification to facilitate the aggressive phenotypes of hepatocellular carcinoma cell

Abstract

N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) modification plays an important role in RNA molecular functions, therefore affecting the initiation and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Herein, multiple datasets were applied to conduct a comprehensive analysis of DEGs within HCC and the analysis revealed significant dysregulation of numerous genes. Functional and signaling pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Further, TP53RK binding protein (TPRKB) emerged as a significant factor, exhibiting high expression level within HCC tissue samples and cells which could predict HCC patients’ poor OS. Knockdown investigations of TPRKB in vitro demonstrated the effect of TPRKB knockdown on attenuating the aggressiveness of HCC cells by suppressing the viability, colony formation, invasive ability, and migratory ability, inducing cell cycle arrest, and facilitating the apoptosis of HCC cells. Investigations in vivo revealed that TPRKB knockdown significantly suppressed tumor growth in mice model. Additionally, the study identified methyltransferase 5, N6-adenosine (METTL5) as a potential regulator of TPRKB expression via m⁶A modification, positively regulating TPRKB expression by enhancing TPRKB mRNA stability. The dynamic effects of METTL5 and TPRKB upon the phenotypes of HCC cells further confirmed that TPRKB overexpression partially abolished the anti-cancer effects of METTL5 knockdown upon the aggressiveness of HCC cells. Conclusively, our findings uncover that TPRKB, significantly overexpressed in HCC, exerts a critical effect on promoting tumor aggressiveness, and its expression shows to be positively regulated by METTL5 via m⁶A methylation. These insights deepen the understanding of HCC pathogenesis and open new avenues for targeted therapies, highlighting that METTL5-TPRKB axis is an underlying new therapeutic target in HCC management.