Abstract: Objective　To detect the expression of CLEC5A in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) tissues and analyze its effect on cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of RBE cells. Methods　The expression levels of CLEC5A were assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 25 samples of ICC and adjacent normal tissues. RBE cells were transfected with lentiviral vector overexpressing CLEC5A, and qPCR was used to detect the expression levels of CLEC5A. CCK-8 was used to detect the proliferation, flow cytometric analysis was used to detect cell apoptotic proportion and cell cycle distribution, and Transwell assay was performed to detect cell migration and invasion in RBE cells. Results　IHC score was significantly lower in tumor tissues than that in the adjacent normal tissues (P＜0.05). Overexpression of CLEC5A inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion and induced cell apoptosis and led to G2/M phase arrestment in RBE cells (P＜0.05). Conclusion　CLEC5A is a potential ICC cancer suppressor gene, which may affect the development of ICC by regulating cell proliferation, metastasis and invasion.

Key words: cholangiocarcinoma, liver neoplasms, cell proliferation, cell movement, cell cycle, CLEC5A