Matrin-3 acts as a potential biomarker and promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by interacting with cell cycle-regulating genes

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The oncogenic role of Matrin-3 (MATR3), an a nuclear matrix protein, in HCC remains largely unknown. Here, we document the biological function of MATR3 in HCC based on integrated bioinformatics analysis and functional studies. According to the TCGA database, MATR3 expression was found to be positively correlated with clinicopathological characteristics in HCC. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Kaplan-Meier (KM) curve displayed the diagnostic and prognostic potentials of MATR3 in HCC patients, respectively. Pathway enrichment analysis represented the enrichment of MATR3 in various molecular pathways, including the regulation of the cell cycle. Functional assays in HCC cell lines showed reduced proliferation of cells with stable silencing of MATR3. At the same time, the suppressive effects of MATR3 depletion on HCC development were verified by xenograft tumor experiments. Moreover, MATR3 repression also resulted in cell cycle arrest by modulating the expression of cell cycle-associated genes. In addition, the interaction of MATR3 with cell cycle-regulating factors in HCC cells was further corroborated with co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry (Co-IP/MS). Furthermore, CIBERSORT and TIMER analyses showed an association between MATR3 and immune infiltration in HCC. In general, this study highlights the novel oncogenic function of MATR3 in HCC, which could comprehensively address how aberrant changes in the cell cycle promote HCC development. MATR3 might serve as a prognostic predictor and therapeutic target for HCC patients.