L1-ORF1p, a Smad4 Interaction Protein, Promotes Proliferation of HepG2 Cells and Tumorigenesis in Mice

Long interspersed nucleotide element (LINE-1; L1) as an autonomous retrotransposon is localized usually in AT-rich, low-recombined, and gene-poor regions of genome. It is transiently activated in embryonic development and continuously activated in all tumor cells tested so far. Full-length L1 gene contains 5' untranslated region, two open reading frames (ORFs) encoded L1ORF1p and L1ORF2p, and a 3' terminal polyadenylation site. Compared with L1ORF2p, a protein encompassing reverse transcriptase and endonuclease activities, L1ORF1p remains to be elucidated. With liver cancer cells and tissues, the expression and sub-localization of L1ORF1p were investigated and shown that L1-ORF1p expresses just in liver cancer cells and tissues but not in normal liver cells and almost not in adjacent tissues. To characterize L1ORF1p, the strategies for over-expression and down-regulation of L1ORF1p in transfected cells were implemented. The phenomenon of promoting cell proliferation and colony formation was observed in transfected cells with L1ORF1p over-expression and vice versa. Down-regulation of L1ORF1p suppresses tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo. Smad4 as an interaction protein of L1ORF1p is identified for the first time, while L1ORF1p is responsible for Smad4 sequestration in the cytoplasm. Thus, L1ORF1p contributed to tumorigenesis and may attribute to, at least partly, its participation in Smad4-signaling regulation.