Plectin, as a cytoskeleton-related
protein, is involved in various physiological and
pathological processes of many cell types. Studies have found that
plectin affects
cancer cell invasion and
metastasis, but the exact mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, we aim to investigate the role of
plectin in the migration of
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and explore its relevant molecular mechanism. Herein, we found that the expression of
plectin in HCC tissue and cells was significantly increased compared with normal liver tissue and cells. After downregulation of
plectin, the migration ability of HCC cells was significantly lower than that of the control group. Moreover, the expression of
E-cadherin was upregulated and the expression of
N-cadherin and
vimentin was downregulated, suggesting that
plectin downregulation suppresses epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) of HCC cells. Mechanically, we found that
plectin downregulation repressed the
extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) phosphorylation. Activation of ERK1/2 recovered the
plectin downregulation-inhibited migration and EMT of HCC cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate that downregulation of
plectin inhibits HCC cell migration and EMT through ERK1/2 signaling, which provides a novel prognostic
biomarker and potential therapeutic target for HCC.