Elsevier

Journal of Hepatology

Volume 71, Issue 6, December 2019, Pages 1152-1163
Journal of Hepatology

Research Article
Genomic sequencing identifies WNK2 as a driver in hepatocellular carcinoma and a risk factor for early recurrence

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2019.07.014Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • 182 Chinese hepatocellular carcinomas were sequenced.

  • WNK2, RUNX1T1, CTNNB1, TSC1, and TP53 somatic mutations correlated with early tumor recurrence after curative resection.

  • WNK2 displayed somatic mutation, copy number loss, and downregulated expression in HCC.

  • WNK2 deficiency leads to ERK1/2 signalling activation, TAM infiltration, and tumor growth and metastasis.

Background & Aims

Early recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection is common. However, the association between genetic mechanisms and early HCC recurrence, especially in Chinese patients, remains largely unknown.

Methods

We performed whole-genome sequencing (49 cases), whole-exome sequencing (18 cases), and deep targeted sequencing (115 cases) on 182 primary HCC samples. Focusing on WNK2, we used Sanger sequencing and qPCR to evaluate all the coding exons and copy numbers of that gene in an additional 554 HCC samples. We also explored the functional effect and mechanism of WNK2 on tumor growth and metastasis.

Results

We identified 5 genes (WNK2, RUNX1T1, CTNNB1, TSC1, and TP53) harboring somatic mutations that correlated with early tumor recurrence after curative resection in 182 primary HCC samples. Focusing on WNK2, the overall somatic mutation and copy number loss occurred in 5.3% (39/736) and 27.2% (200/736), respectively, of the total 736 HCC samples. Both types of variation were associated with lower WNK2 protein levels, higher rates of early tumor recurrence, and shorter overall survival. Biofunctional investigations revealed a tumor-suppressor role of WNK2: its inactivation led to ERK1/2 signaling activation in HCC cells, tumor-associated macrophage infiltration, and tumor growth and metastasis.

Conclusions

Our results delineate genomic events that characterize Chinese HCCs and identify WNK2 as a driver of early HCC recurrence after curative resection.

Lay summary

We applied next-generation sequencing and conducted an in-depth genomic analysis of hepatocellular carcinomas from a Chinese patient cohort. The results delineate the genomic events that characterize hepatocellular carcinomas in Chinese patients and identify WNK2 as a driver associated with early tumor recurrence after curative resection.

Keywords

Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Early Recurrence
Sequencing
WNK2

Cited by (0)

These authors contributed equally to this work.