RNAi沉默Sp3基因对肝癌HepG2细胞增殖的影

The specificity protein 3 (SP3) gene in ducks (Anas platyrhynchos): cloning, characterization and expression during viral infection

Specificity Protein 3 (SP3) is a newly identified regulator of tumor growth and invasiveness in humans. In this study, we identified and characterized the function of duck SP3 (duSP3). The full-length cDNA sequence of the duSP3 gene was cloned via rapid amplification of cDNA ends. It contained 2468 nucleotides, including a 111 base pair (bp) 5'-untranslated region (UTR), 215 bp 3'-UTR, and 2142 bp open reading frame (ORF), which encoded a 713 amino acid (AA) strongly conserved with Avian SP3. Tissue specificity analysis demonstrated that duSP3 was constitutively expressed in the eight tissues tested: liver, spleen, lung, heart, kidney, thymus, breast, and leg; and low expression levels were observed in all tissues, except the spleen and thymus. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that duSP3 expression rapidly increased in vitro after stimulation with both the hepatitis virus (DHV-1) and polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid (poly(I:C)). However, the expression under these treatments varied in kidney and liver tissues; in the liver, duSP3 increased significantly at 36 h after the DHV-1 treatment and peaked at 72 h after poly(I:C) stimulation. These results suggested that SP3 may play a positive role in immune responses against viral infections in ducks.

Alteration of gene expression profile in hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells with Sp3 downregulation

AIM: To analyze the alteration of gene expression profile in hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2 with Sp3 downregulation.

METHODS: RNA interference was performed to downregulate Sp3 mRNA in HepG2 cells and NimbleGen Human Gene Expression Microarray was used for gene expression profile analysis. Real-time quantitative PCR was employed to confirm the expression of several differentially expressed genes. The cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry.

RESULTS: A total of 1789 genes was found to be differentially expressed in HepG2 cells with Sp3 downregulation, including 1007 up-regulated and 782 down-regulated ones. These genes were involved in many cellular biological process such as proliferation, differentiation, programmed death, adhesion, and metabolic process. Real-time quantitative PCR confirmed the alteration of several cell cycle related genes (CCND1, CCNE2, TGFB1, and CDKN2A). Flow cytometry analysis showed that the percentage of cells in G₁ phase increased significantly after Sp3 downregulation.

CONCLUSION: Gene expression profile alters in HepG2 with Sp3 downregulation. Sp3 knockdown induces cell cycle arrest in G₀/G₁ phase in HepG2 cells. Sp3 may play an essential role in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma as a transcription factor via regulating cell cycle progression.