ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of the Yap1 gene and tanshinone ⅡA on the proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of Huh-7 hepatoma cells. MethodsA total of 10 pairs of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples and adjacent tissue samples were collected in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from June 1 to December 1, 2019. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to measure the expression of the Yap1 gene and phenotype-related molecules. MTT cell proliferation detection reagent was used to measure the inhibition rate of cell proliferation after the treatment with different concentrations of tanshinone ⅡA. Western blotting was used to measure the changes in the expression of apoptosis-and migration-related markers after different interventions. Flow cytometry and Transwell assay were used to measure apoptosis and cell migration and invasion abilities. The data of 375 cases of liver cancer and 50 cases of relatively normal liver tissue samples were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas, including clinicopathological information. The t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. ResultsIn 8 of the 10 pairs of HCC samples and adjacent tissue samples, HCC samples had significantly higher expression of Yap1 than the adjacent tissue samples. Compared with the normal human liver epithelial cells L02, the Huh-7 and HCCL-M3 hepatoma cells had a significant increase in the expression of Yap1. The silencing efficiency of si-Yap1-3 transfection reached 87.004% at the protein level. MTT results showed that tanshinone ⅡA effectively inhibited the proliferation of Huh-7 cells, with a half inhibitory concentration of 8.683 μmol/L. After the cells were treated with si-Yap1-3 and tanshinone ⅡA, there was an increase in the expression of the downstream marker for proliferation and migration E-cadherin and a reduction in the expression of vimentin, and the results of Transwell assay showed that compared with the si-NC group, the tanshinone ⅡA+si-Yap1-3 group had significant reductions in the migration and invasion abilities of Huh-7 cells (migration: 43.19±2.88 vs 132.20±10.03, t=8.527, P=0.001; invasion: 53.95±4.20 vs 179.10±11.11, t=4.484, P=0.011). The group treated with si-Yap1-3 and tanshinone ⅡA had an increase in the expression of the apoptosis-related marker Bax and a reduction in the expression of Bcl-2, as well as a significantly higher early apoptosis rate than the si-NC group (2598% vs 9.21%, χ2=4.078, P＜0.05). ConclusionOncogene Yap1 silencing combined with tanshinone ⅡA can promote the apoptosis of Huh-7 hepatoma cells and inhibit their migration and invasion, which can provide certain guiding significance for clinical medication.