Nuclear receptor FXR impairs SK-Hep-1 cell migration and invasion by inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Recently, the nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) has been considered to be a liver tumor suppressor. However, the role of FXR in liver cancer invasion and metastasis remains unclear. The results of the current study demonstrated that FXR suppressed the migratory and invasive capacities of SK-Hep-1 cells in vitro and that FXR overexpression inhibited local invasion and lung metastasis of SK-Hep-1 xenografts in vivo. Bioinformatics analysis of the gene expression profile of SK-Hep-1 cells with different FXR levels indicated that FXR may regulate the Wnt/beta -catenin pathway. Compared with controls, FXR-overexpressing SK-Hep-1 cells exhibited decreased expression of beta -catenin target genes and reduced nuclear translocation of beta -catenin proteins in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, these results indicated that FXR may suppress SK-Hep-1 cell invasion and metastasis by suppressing the Wnt/beta -catenin signaling pathway. The current study provided novel insight into the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer.