YBX1 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma via transcriptional regulation of PLRG1

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks as the sixth most prevalent cancer worldwide. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical process in cancer progression, contributing to increased malignancy. While Pleiotropic Regulator 1 (PLRG1) is upregulated in HCC and is associated with enhanced cell proliferation, its oncogenic role in EMT remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that PLRG1 promotes EMT in HCC cells. Knockdown of PLRG1 in Huh7 cells resulted in decreased expression of the EMT markers N-cadherin and Snail, and impaired cell migration and invasion. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and luciferase assays identified Y-box binding protein 1 (YBX1) as a direct regulator of PLRG1 transcription, binding to its promoter region. Overexpression of YBX1 in SNU-449 cells led to increased PLRG1 expression and subsequent EMT activation, as well as enhanced migration, and invasion. These effects were attenuated by PLRG1 knockdown. Our findings indicate that YBX1 drives EMT in HCC by upregulating PLRG1, offering novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying HCC progression.