EYA4 serves as a prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma and suppresses tumour angiogenesis and metastasis

Abstract

Eye absent homolog 4 (EYA4) has been demonstrated to be down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its biological function and the mechanism in HCC angiogenesis and metastasis remain largely unknown. Herein, we showed that EYA4 expression was frequently low in HCC tissue samples compared with matched adjacent non-tumourous tissues. In the analysis of 302 HCC specimens, we revealed that decreased expression of EYA4 correlated with tumour differentiation status. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified EYA4 as an independent risk factor for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) among the 302 patients. Functional assays showed that forced expression of EYA4 suppressed HCC cell migration, invasion and capillary tube formation of endothelial cells in vitro, as well as in vivo tumour angiogenesis and metastasis in a mouse model. Furthermore, mechanism study exhibited that EYA4 could inhibit HCC angiogenesis and metastasis by inhibiting c-JUN/VEGFA pathway. Together, we provide proof that EYA4 is a novel tumour suppressor in HCC and a new prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in HCC.