TY - JOUR AB - The cysteine protease cathepsin B (Cat B) is important in the progression of tumor cells, however, the function and molecular mechanisms of Cat B in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain to be elucidated. Our previous study demonstrated that integrin αvβ3 regulated the biological behavior of HCC. The present study demonstrated that Cat B was also important in cell proliferation and apoptosis in HCC. Notably, Cat B was observed to activate the phosphoinositide 3‑kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway to promote HCC proliferation. Furthermore, inhibition of integrin αvβ3 significantly prevented Cat B‑induced activation of PI3K/Akt and the progression of HCC. Thus, the results of the present study suggested the presence of a Cat B/integrin αvβ3/PI3K/Akt axis in the regulation of the progression of HCC. AD - Department of General Surgery, Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China AU - Xu,Zong‑Zhen AU - Xiu,Peng AU - Lv,Ju‑Wei AU - Wang,Fu‑Hai AU - Dong,Xiao‑Feng AU - Liu,Feng AU - Li,Tao AU - Li,Jie DA - 2015/05/01 DO - 10.3892/mmr.2014.3140 EP - 3504 IS - 5 JO - Mol Med Rep KW - cathepsin B integrin αvβ3 phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt hepatocellular carcinoma PY - 2015 SN - 1791-2997 1791-3004 SP - 3499 ST - Integrin αvβ3 is required for cathepsin B-induced hepatocellular carcinoma progression T2 - Molecular Medicine Reports TI - Integrin αvβ3 is required for cathepsin B-induced hepatocellular carcinoma progression UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2014.3140 VL - 11 ER -