Glutathione S-transferase (GST) family members play an important role in detoxification, metabolism and
carcinogenesis. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of
Glutathione S-transferase A1 (GSTA1) on the prognosis of HCC and to understand its role in
tumor progression and the possible mechanism. GSTA1 in HCC was assessed using immunohistochemical staining, and it was found that HCC patients with better pathological differentiation had higher GSTA1 abundance. Further, high GSTA1 expression was correlated with low AFP, absent PVTT, and early stage TNM for HCC patients. Higher GSTA1 indicated longer overall survival and disease-free survival, while lower GSTA1 indicated poorer prognosis. Subsequently, lentiviral vector carrying GSTA1 gene was successfully constructed and maintained high expression in 97H and SNU449
liver cancer cells. We found that high GSTA1 restrained
liver cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. Western blot showed that LKB1 and p-AMPK were upregulated while p-mTOR, p-p70
S6 Kinase and MMP-9 were downregulated in high GSTA1 groups. Taken together, high GSTA1 correlated with satisfactory prognosis of HCC. Additionally, GSTA1 may act as a protective factor through suppression of
tumorigenesis by targeting AMPK/mTOR in HCC.