CDCA2 protects against oxidative stress by promoting BRCA1–NRF2 signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients mostly suffer from poor survival outcomes. It is necessary to identify effective therapeutic targets to improve prognosis for HCC patients. Here, we report a new factor, CDCA2, in promoting HCC development. CDCA2 amplification is an independent risk factor for the recurrence and survival of HCC patients, which is positively correlated with elevated level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), high histological grade, large tumor size, advanced TNM stage, and poor prognosis for HCC patients. In HCC cells, CDCA2 promotes cell growth and inhibits apoptosis. Mechanistically, CDCA2's transcription is activated through the binding of E2F2/E2F8 with its promoter. CDCA2 depletion contributes to the suppression of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis due to reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated stress, which can be reversed by antioxidants N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and glutathione (GSH). Interestingly, we found that CDCA2 triggers the BRCA1-NRF2 cascade, which elevates antioxidant response and attenuates ROS levels. In response to oxidative stress, CDCA2 promotes BRCA1's chromatin relocalization to NRF2, activating NRF2-driven downstream signaling (HO-1, TXNRD1, and NQO1), which then protects HCC cells against oxidative damage. In conclusion, our results reveal that CDCA2 is a prognostic biomarker for HCC patients, and present the E2F2/E2F8-CDCA2-BRCA1-NRF2-ROS signaling axis that have implications for HCC therapeutics.