1 SIRT5 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma 2 Progression by Regulating Mitochondrial Apoptosis 3 Rixin Zhang1*, Chengye Wang1*, Yu Tian1,2, Yifan Yao1, Jiakai Mao1, Haibo Wang1, 4 Zhenghan Li1, Yakun Xu1, Mingliang Ye3, Liming Wang1 5 6 1. Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The Second Hospital of 7 Dalian Medical University, NO.467, Zhongshan Road, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, China. 8 2. Department of Vascular Surgery, The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, NO.467, 9 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, China. 10 3. CAS Key Lab of Separation Sciences for Analytical Chemistry, National Chromatographic Research 11 and Analysis Center, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, NO.457, 12 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, China. 13 *These authors have contributed equally to this work. 14 Corresponding author: Liming Wang, email:
[email protected],Tel # +86-17709870007 15 16 Abstract 17 SIRT5 belongs to a family of NAD+-dependent lysine deacetylases called sirtuins. 18 Although accumulating evidence indicates SIRT5 upregulation in cancers, including 19 liver cancer, the detailed roles and mechanisms remain to be revealed. Hepatocellular 20 carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men 21 worldwide, and finding effective targets for HCC treatment and prevention is urgently 22 needed. In the present study, we confirmed that mitochondrial sirtuins, particularly 23 SIRT5, are more highly expressed in HCC cell lines than in normal liver cell lines. 24 Moreover, SIRT5 knockdown suppresses HCC cell proliferation and SIRT5 25 overexpression promotes HCC cell proliferation. Furthermore, we verified that SIRT5 26 knockdown increases HCC cell apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway.