Downregulated DYRK2 expression is associated with poor prognosis and Oxaliplatin resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma

We aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of DYRK2 and the HCC sensitivity to Oxaliplatin in DYRK2-depleted HCC cells. HCC tissue specimens were obtained from 86 HCC patients during hepatectomy. We used immunohistochemistry and western blot to analyze DYRK2 expression in HCC tissues and cell lines, and used siRNA transfection to decrease DYRK2 expression in HCC cells. Flow cytometry and CCK-8 assay were detected in cell cycle progression, cell proliferation and the efficacy of Oxaliplatin, DYRK2 was down-regulated in HCC tissues, compared with adjacent nontumor ones. The significant correlation between DYRK2 expression and clinicopathologic factors was apparently shown in the immunohistochemical and statistical analyses. The expression of DYRK2 was significantly associated with histological grade of HCC patients. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses revealed that DYRK2 was a significant predictor for overall survival of HCC patients. The depletion of DYRK2 promoted HCC cell proliferation, and increased resistance to Oxaliplatin. These data showed that the downregulated expression of DYRK2 in HCC tumor tissues could promote the proliferation of HCC cells. In addition, reducing DYRK2 expression was associated with poor prognosis and Oxaliplatin resistance in HCC.