CHMP3 promotes the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis

Charged multivesicular body protein 3 (CHMP3) is an elemental constituent of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) III, whose function as a tumor susceptibility gene in the development of liver cancer remains unclear. CHMP3 was found to be associated with pyroptosis by bioinformatics analysis of data from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in The Cancer Genome Atlas database. It was aimed to explore the role and potential mechanisms of CHMP3 in the development of liver cancer. The expression of CHMP3 at the tissue level was examined using immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. Subsequently, HepG2 and Huh-7 cells were transfected with small interfering RNA and overexpression plasmids to change CHMP3 expression. The proliferative capacity of cells was examined using colony formation and Cell Counting Kit-8 assays. Wound healing and Transwell assays were used to examine the migratory and invasive abilities of the cells. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe changes in cell morphology. Western blotting was used to examine the expression of caspase-1 signaling pathway related proteins, a classic pathway of pyroptosis. In addition, a xenograft tumor model was used to examine the tumorigenic ability of CHMP3 in vivo. The results demonstrated that CHMP3 expression was upregulated in HCC and was associated with poor prognosis. Knockdown or overexpression of CHMP3 inhibited or promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of liver cancer cells. Knockdown of Huh-7 showed changes in cell membrane integrity as well as cytoplasmic leakage. Furthermore, knockdown of CHMP3 may activate the caspase-1 pyroptosis signaling pathway which in turn inhibits the progression of liver cancer, and this effect can be reversed by the caspase-1 inhibitor AYC. In conclusion, CHMP3 may affect the development of liver cancer through the caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis pathway.