Effect Of The Wnt/-Catenin Signaling Pathway On Apoptosis, Migration, And Invasion Of Transplanted Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells After Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization In Rats

This study aims to investigate the influence of the Wnt/-catenin signaling pathway on apoptosis, migration, and invasion of transplanted hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in rat models. A total of 80 rats were grouped into sham, TACE, Wnt-C59, and TACE+Wnt-C59 groups (n=20). Ten days after model establishment, 10 rats in each group were executed to perform pathological examination and follow-up experiment, and the remaining 10 rats in each group were reared to observe the survival condition. RT-qPCR and Western blotting were applied to determine the expressions of Wnt1, -catenin, cyclin D1, c-met, vimentin, E-cadherin, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). ELISA was performed to measure the serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) content of rats. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate cell apoptosis rate and transwell assay to examine cell migration and invasion. Compared with the TACE group, the Wnt-C59 and TACE+Wnt-C59 groups showed increased apoptosis and survival time (the TACE+Wnt-C59 group>the Wnt-C59 group). Compared with the sham group, the TACE+Wnt-C59 groups showed decreased cancer tissue weight and expressions of Wnt1, -catenin, cyclin D1, vimentin, c-met, and VEGF, but increased E-cadherin expression. Compared with the TACE group, the Wnt-C59 and TACE+Wnt-C59 groups showed decreased AFP level, migration, and invasion (the TACE+Wnt-C59 group更多