TY - JOUR AB - Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor located in the liver. Secreted frizzled‑related protein 4 (sFRP‑4) is associated with cancer occurrence, but the relationship between sFRP‑4 and HCC is not completely understood. The present study aimed to investigate the role and mechanism underlying sFRP‑4 in HCC. sFRP‑4 mRNA expression levels were determined via reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry. The Cell Counting Kit‑8 assay was performed to evaluate HCCLM3 and Huh7 cell viability. Moreover, HCCLM3 and Huh7 cell proliferation were assessed using the BrdU ELISA assay kit, and cell apoptosis was measured via flow cytometry. Western blotting was conducted to measure β‑catenin and GSK‑3β protein expression levels. The results demonstrated that sFRP‑4 expression was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues and cells compared with adjacent healthy tissues and MIHA cells, respectively. Moreover, the results indicated that compared with the control group, sFRP‑4 overexpression inhibited HCC cell viability and proliferation, and accelerated HCC cell apoptosis. Furthermore, the results suggested that sFRP‑4 inhibited the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway by upregulating GSK‑3β expression and downregulating β‑catenin expression, thus restraining the malignant behavior of HCC cells. In conclusion, the present study indicated that sFRP‑4 served a tumor suppressor role in HCC cells by restraining the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway. AD - Cadre Ward Two, General Hospital of The Central Theater Command of The People's Liberation Army, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, P.R. China Department of Oncology, General Hospital of The Central Theater Command of The People's Liberation Army, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, P.R. China Department of Oncology, Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Chongqing 400021, P.R. China AU - Wu,Quanxin AU - Xu,Cheng AU - Zeng,Xianghua AU - Zhang,Zhimin AU - Yang,Bo AU - Rao,Zhiguo DA - 2021/05/01 DO - 10.3892/mmr.2021.11975 IS - 5 JO - Mol Med Rep KW - secreted frizzled‑related protein 4 hepatocellular carcinoma Wnt/β‑catenin PY - 2021 SN - 1791-2997 1791-3004 SP - 336 ST - Tumor suppressor role of sFRP‑4 in hepatocellular carcinoma via the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway T2 - Molecular Medicine Reports TI - Tumor suppressor role of sFRP‑4 in hepatocellular carcinoma via the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2021.11975 VL - 23 ER -