Low RIN1 expression in HCC is associated with tumor invasion and unfavorable prognosis.

Abstract

To explore the association between the expression of Ras and Rab interactor 1 (RIN1) and the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). RIN1 expression was detected in paired HCC tissues by real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot analysis, and immunohistochemistry. Transfection was applied to analyze the RIN1 function. We found that expression of the RIN1 protein was downregulated in the HCC samples compared with the corresponding normal tissues. Downregulation of RIN1 expression was also associated with invasion and poor overall survival (OS). The results of our multivariate analysis indicated that the RIN1 status is a significant prognostic factor for OS. RIN1 overexpression also inhibited cell invasion in HepG2 cells. The expression between RIN1 and ABL2 may present a positive correlation. Our results demonstrate that RIN1 suppresses tumor invasion in HCC patients and that a poor prognosis for HCC is expected when RIN1 expression is downregulated.