Constitutively active PKB/Akt inhibited apoptosis and down-regulated beta1,4-galactosyltransferase 1 in hepatocarcinoma cells

Beta1,4-galactosyltransferase1 (beta1,4GT1) is localized both in the Golgi complex and on the cell surface. In our previous study, we first reported that beta1,4GT1 was associated with cycloheximide-induced apoptosis in human hepatocarcinoma cells. In this study, we transfected constitutively active protein kinase B (Gag-PKB), a central mediator of anti-apoptotic signals transduced by the PI3-kinase, into SMMC-7721 human hepatocarcinoma cells, and examined its effect on apoptosis and beta1,4GT1 activity. Flow cytometry analysis showed that apoptosis was inhibited in Gag-PKB transfected SMMC-7721 cells. At the same time, beta1,4GT1 mRNA level and enzyme activities were downregulated in these cells, consistent with which, the content of beta1,4 Gal branch in the glycoconjugates was decreased in stably transfected cells. Cotransfection of beta1,4GT1 promoter/luciferase reporter and Gag-PKB decreased the luciferase reporter activity in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that the differences in mRNA levels might be regulated through promoter function. All these findings suggested that changes of beta1,4GT1 activity might be involved in apoptotic pathway in hepatocarcinoma cells.     

Effect of p58GTA on β-1,4-galactosyltransferase 1 activity and cell-cycle in human hepatocarcinoma cells

-1,4-galactosyltransferase 1 (1,4-GT 1) is the key enzyme transferring galactose to the terminal N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) forming Gal14GlcNAc structure in the Golgi apparatus. In addition, it also serves as a cell adhesion molecule by recognizing and binding to terminal GlcNAc of glycoconjugates on the adjacent cell surface and matrix through a subpopulation of the enzyme distributed on the cell surface. Transient expression of the p58^GTA protein kinase, which belongs to the p34cdc2-related supergene family, could enhance 1,4-GT 1 total activity in COS cells. In this study, the p58^GTA interaction with 1,4-GT 1 was confirmed using an in vitro assay with the TNT® Coupled Reticulocyte Lysate System. An expression vector containing p58^GTA was stably transfected into 7721 cells, a human hepatocarcinoma cell line, expression was confirmed by Northern and Western blot analyses. The cells transfected with p58^GTA (p58^GTA/7721) contained 1.9 times higher total 1,4-GT 1 activity and 2.6 times higher cell-surface 1,4-GT 1 activity than the mock transfected cells (pcDNA3/7721). However, Ricinus communis agglutinin-I lectin blot analysis revealed that the enhanced 1,4-GT 1 activity did not increase the Gal14GlcNAc groups on most of the membrane proteins in p58^GTA/7721 cells. By flow cytometry analysis, it was found that the p58^GTA/7721 cells were G2/M phase arrested, compared with the pcDNA3/7721 cells. These results suggest that the p58^GTA stable transfection into human hepatocarcinoma cells could enhance the two 1,4-GT 1 subcellular pool activities independently and change its cell-cycle without modifying the -1,4-linked galactose residues on most membrane proteins.     

怀化医学高等专科学校医学形态学实验中心

目的:探讨抑癌基因p16对肝癌细胞生长的抑制作用及其机制。方法:将p16 cDNA亚克隆至pcDNA3.1真核表达载体上,并经脂质体介导转染至人肝癌细胞株SMMC-7721。用MTT法和Western blot分析转染细胞的生长情况。结果:成功构建重组表达质粒pcDNA3.1-p16,转染pcDNA3.1-p16的SMMC-7721细胞生长速度受到明显抑制;转染后有外源p16蛋白的表达,且伴随Bax上调,Bcl-2和cIAP2的下调。结论:重组pcDNA3.1-p16质粒能在人肝癌细胞SMMC-7721内表达,且能抑制SMMC-7721的生长,其机理与诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡相关。     

抑癌基因p16对人肝癌细胞生长抑制的机制研究

目的：探讨抑癌基因p16对肝癌细胞生长的抑制作用及其机制。方法：将p16cDNA亚克隆至pcDNA3．1真核表达载体上,并经脂质体介导转染至人肝癌细胞株SMMC-7721：用MTT法和Western blot分析转染细胞的生长情况。结果：成功构建重组表达质粒pcDNA3．1-p16,转染pcDNA3．1-p16的SMMC-7721细胞生长速度受到明显抑制;转染后有外源p16蛋白的表达,且伴随Bax上调,Bcl-2和cIAP2的下调。结论：重组pcDNA3．1-p16质粒能在人肝癌细胞SMMC-7721内表达,且能抑制SMMC-7721的生长,其机理与诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡相关。     

HMBA诱导人肝癌SMMC-7721细胞分化的观察

本文研究HMBA对人肝癌SMMC-7721细胞的诱导分化作用.细胞生长曲线测定和细胞分裂指数观察显示HMBA可明显抑制细胞增殖,细胞生长抑制率达64.14%,分裂指数抑制率为53.88%.光镜和透射电镜观察可见HMBA能诱导人肝癌SMMG-7721细胞形态和超微结构发生恢复性改变.生化检测或免疫细胞化学方法观察显示,HM-BA处理后细胞γ.谷氨酸转肽酶(γ-GT)活性和甲胎蛋白(AFP)、增殖细胞核抗原(PCNA)表达均降低,而酪氨酸.酮戊二酸转氨酶(TAT)活性增强.流式细胞仪分析表明HMBA引起细胞发生G0/G1期阻滞.以上结果表明HMBA能有效抑制人肝癌细胞恶性增殖活性,逆转肝癌细胞恶性形态与超微结构特征,改变肝癌细胞相关酶活性和抗原表达,引发G0/G1期阻滞,从而对肝癌细胞具有明显的诱导分化作用.     

TGF-β1-promoted epithelial-to-mesenchymal transfor mation and cell adhesion contribute to TGF-β1-enhanced cell migration in SMMC-7721 cells

Transforming growth factor-bl (TGF-β1), a multi-function polypeptide, is a double-edged sword in cancer. For some tumor cells, TGF-β1 is a potent growth inhibitor and apoptosis inducer. More commonly, TGF-β1 losesits growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effects, but stimulates the metastatic capacity of tumor cells. It is currently little known about TGF-β1-promoted cell migration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, let alone its mechanism. In this study, we found that TGF-β1 lost its tumor-suppressive effects, but significantly stimulated cellmigration in SMMC-7721 human HCC cells. By FACS and Western blot analysis, we observed that TGF-β1 enhanced the expression of ct5131 integrin obviously, and subsequently stimulated cell adhesion onto fibronectin(Fn). Furthermore, we observed that TGF-β1 could also promote SMMC-7721 cells adhesion onto laminin (Ln).Our data also provided evidences that TGF-β1 induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in SMMC-7721 cells. First, SMMC-7721 cells clearly switched to the spindle shape morphology after TGF-β1 treatment.Furthermore, TGF-β1 induced the down-regulation of E-cadherin and the nuclear translocation of β1-catenin. These results indicated that TGF-β1-promoted cell adhesion and TGF-β1-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transfor-mation might be both responsible for TGF-β1-enhanced cell migration.     

HMBA对人肝癌SMMC—7721细胞周期相关基因表达的影响

本文研究HMBA对人肝癌SMMC－7721细胞周期G0／G1期阻滞相关基因表达的影响。免疫细胞化学和核酸原位杂交检测结果显示,HMBA可明显上调p21^WAF1/CIP1、p16蛋白表达并增强p21^WAF1/CIP1基因转录,同时对CDK4、Cyclin D1蛋白表达以及c-myc基因转录均具有明显的下调作用。结果表明,HMBA可通过增强p21^WAF1/CIP1、p16基因表达而抑制Cyclin D1-CDK4活性,最终导致细胞进入S期所需的c-myc等基因转录活性下降,从而将细胞周期阻滞于G0／G1期,诱导人肝癌细胞分化。     

The inhibitory effect of transthyretin gene on growth of human hepatoma cells

Transthyretin(TTR) gene was highly expressed in normal liver and it has been found to be deleted in part of DNA samples from human hepatic cancer.Its mRNA expression was suppressed in most hepatoma samples.In order to study the biological effect of TTR gene on the growth of hepatoma cells,a recombinant vector containing TTR cDNA was constructed by pCMV,then it was transfected into hepatoma cell lines SMMC-7721 and Q3.It has been demonstrated that the inhibition of growth rate of TTR cDNA transfected hepatoma cells was about 50% in strength compared with that of the control.This inhibition was further enhanced when the transfected hepatoma cells were treated with all-trans retinoic acid.Hepatoma cells of cell lines PLC/PRF/5,SMMC-7721 and Q3 as well as hepatoma cells SMMC-7721 transfected with pCMV or pCMV-TTR were analyzed for TTR expression by Northern hybridization.The low level of TTR expression was found in both hepatoma cell lines and in SMMC-7721 cells transfected with pCMV alone.However,a remarkable TTR mRNA expression was observed in hepatoma SMMV-7721 cells transfected with pCMV-TTR.It seems possible that TTR gene might be a candidate of cancer suppressor gene for human hepatic cancer.     

TGF-beta 1 modulated the expression of alpha 5 beta 1 integrin and integrin-mediated signaling in human hepatocarcinoma cells

Integrins are a family of cell surface adhesion molecules which mediate cell adhesion and initiate signaling pathways that regulate cell spreading, migration, differentiation, and proliferation. TGF-beta is a multifunctional factor that induces a wide variety of cellular processes. In this study, we show that, TGF-beta 1 treatment enhanced the amount of alpha 5 beta 1 integrin on cell surface, the mRNA level of alpha 5 subunit, and subsequently stimulated cell adhesion onto a fibronectin (Fn) and laminin (Ln) matrix in SMMC-7721 cells. TGF-beta 1 could also promote cell migration. Furthermore, our results showed that TGF-beta1 treatment stimulated the tyrosine phosphorylation level of FAK, which can be activated by the ligation and clustering of integrins. PTEN can directly dephosphorylate FAK, and the results that TGF-beta 1 could down-regulate PTEN at protein level suggested that TGF-beta 1 might stimulate FAK phosphorylation through increasing integrin signaling and reducing dephosphorylation of FAK. These studies indicated that TGF-beta 1 and integrin-mediated signaling act synergistically to enhance cell adhesion and migration and affect downstream signaling molecules of hepatocarcinoma cells.     

人IL-17F对裸鼠人肝癌移植瘤生长的影响

利用RT-PCR方法从PHA活化的人外周血单个核细胞(PBMCs)中克隆hIL-17F基因,亚克隆至逆转录病毒载体pSIV-1,与辅助病毒载体pHIT456和pHIT60脂质体法共转染293T包装细胞,获得的成熟重组逆转录病毒(RV-hIL-17F)再感染SMMC-7721人肝癌细胞,并经G418筛选建立hIL-17F转基因肝癌细胞。PCR、RT-PCR和Westernblot结果表明hIL-17F基因在肝癌细胞中能成功整合、转录和表达。MTT和FCM结果表明hIL-17F不能改变SMMC-7721肝癌细胞的增殖活力和细胞周期,但ELISA结果表明其能明显下调肝癌细胞IL-6、IL-8和VEGF的表达。转基因肝癌细胞rhIL-17F表达上清具有抑制ECV304人脐静脉内皮细胞生长的作用。裸鼠皮下成瘤试验结果表明hIL-17F转基因肝癌细胞裸鼠致瘤能力明显减弱,VEGF和CD34表达降低,血管形成显著减少。hIL-17F可通过减少肿瘤血管形成显著抑制裸鼠人肝癌移植瘤的生长,为其进一步开展肿瘤血管靶向基因治疗和开发抗血管新药提供了一定的实验依据。     

HMBA对人肝癌SMMC-7721细胞周期相关基因表达的影响

本文研究HMBA对人肝癌SMMC-7721细胞周期G_0/G_1期阻滞相关基因表达的影响。免疫细胞化学和核酸原位杂交检测结果显示,HMBA可明显上调p21~(WAFl/CIPl)、p16蛋白表达并增强p21~(WAFl/CIPl)基因转录,同时对CDK4、Cyclin D1蛋白表达以及c-myc基因转录均具有明显的下调作用。结果表明,HMBA可通过增强p21~(WAFl/CIPl)、p16基因表达而抑制Cyclin D1-CDK4活性,最终导致细胞进入S期所需的c-myc等基因转录活性下降,从而将细胞周期阻滞于G_0/G_1期,诱导人肝癌细胞分化。     

TGF—β1短时处理降低肝癌细胞与Fn的粘附及FAK的磷酸化

In order to investigate whether TGF-beta 1 could rapidly regulate integrin induced signaling, we treated SMMC-7721 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells with human recombinant TGF-beta 1 for 10 min, and examined cell adhesion, integrin amount and FAK tyrosine phosphorylation. We used cell adhesion assay to estimate the affinity of alpha 5 beta 1 integrin with fibronectin, and analyzed the amount of integrin alpha 5 and beta 1 subunits by performing FACS analysis. Then western blot analysis was carried out to examine tyrosine phosphorylation level of FAK. Our results showed that TGF-beta 1 could rapidly attenuated cell adhesion onto Fn without changing the expression of alpha 5 beta 1 integrin, and at the meantime dephosphorylated FAK. It suggested that TGF-beta 1 rapidly regulated the activation of integrin, and stimulated FAK dephosphorylation, which might induce depolarization in SMMC-7721 hepatocellular carcinoma cells, then facilitates the detachment of tumor cells at early stages of migration.     

HMBA诱导人肝癌SMMC—7721细胞分化的观察

In this paper, the effects of HMBA on the differentiation of human hepatocarcinoma cell line SMMC-7721 were investigated. After treated with 5 mmol/L HMBA, the proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells was inhibited remarkably, the cell growth inhibitory rate amounted to 64.14%, the cell mitotic index was declined by 53.88%. Light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the morphology and ultrastructure of the cells treated with HMBA undergone restorational alteration. Cytochemistry and immunocytochemistry assay revealed that the activities of gamma-GT declined and the levels of AFP and PCNA downregulated while the activity of TAT increased significantly after HMBA treatment. In the meantime, flow cytometry analysis showed that HMBA could arrest the cells in G0/G1 phase. The results showed that HMBA could effectively inhibit the proliferation, reverse the malignant morphology and ultrastructure, alter the levels of enzymes and antigens, arrest the cells in G0/G1, and induce the differentiation of human hepatocarcinoma SMMC-7721 cells in vitro.     

EPA诱导人肝癌细胞SMMC-7721凋亡及端粒酶活性调控机制研究

目的:探究二十碳五烯酸(Eicosa Pentaenoic Acid.EPA)对SMMC-7721人肝癌细胞的凋亡、端粒逆转录酶h TERT的调控作用及端粒酶表达活性的影响。方法:体外培养SMMC-7721人肝癌细胞,用不同浓度的EPA(0μM、25μM、50μM、100μM、200μM)作用于SMMC-7721肝癌细胞(24 h、48 h、72 h)后,显微镜下观察其形态学变化;应用MTT法检测SMMC-7721肝癌细胞细胞增殖变化情况;Western-blot法检测h TERT、Bax、Bcl-2蛋白表达水平变化;Real Time-PCR检测h TERTm RNA的表达变化;ELISA法检测SMMC-7721肝癌细胞端粒酶活性的表达水平。结果:EPA可诱导肝癌细胞SMMC-7721发生细胞凋亡,具有明显的时间计量依赖关系。在此过程中Bcl-2蛋白表达的降低和Bax蛋白表达上调,同时端粒酶逆转录酶h TERT蛋白及其m RNA的表达水平和端粒酶活性均明显降低。结论:抑制端粒酶逆转录酶基因(h TERTm RNA)表达而抑制端粒酶的活性、诱导癌细胞凋亡,可能是EPA的抗癌作用机制之一。     

Down-regulation of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V by tumorigenesis- or metastasis-suppressor gene and its relation to metastatic potential of human hepatocarcinoma cells

The effects of transfection of the metastasis suppressor gene nm23-H1 and cell-cycle related tumor-suppressor gene p16 on the activity of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (GnT-V) and their relations to cancer metastatic potential were investigated. After transfection of nm23-H1 into 7721 human hepatocarcinoma cells and A549 human lung cancer cells, the activities of GnT-V were decreased by 28%-42% in the cells. In contrast, when p16 was transfected into these two cell lines, the decrease of GnT-V activity was only observed in A549 cells. This was probably to be due to the obvious expression of p16 gene in parental 7721 cells and the deletion of p16 in A549 cells. The decrease of GnT-V mRNA was only observed in nm23-H1-transfected cells, but not in p16-transfected A549 cells, suggesting that these two genes regulated GnT-V via different mechanisms. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-lectin staining showed that the 7721 cells transfected with nm23-H1 or the A549 cells transfected with p16 displayed a decreased intensity with HRP-leucoagglutinating phytohemagglutinin and increased intensity with HRP-concanavalin A, indicating the decline of beta1,6 N-acetylglucosamine branching structure on the asparagine-linked glycans of cell-surface and intracellular glycoproteins. The nm23-H1 transfected 7721 cells also displayed some changes in metastasis-related phenotypes, including the increase in cell adhesion to fibronectin (Fn), the decline in cell adhesion to laminin (Ln), and the decreased cell migration and invasion through matrigel. Transfection of antisense GnT-V cDNA into 7721 cells resulted in a decrease of GnT-V activity, an increase of cell adhesion to Fn or Ln, and a decrease in cell migration and invasion through matrigel. These phenotypes bore similarity to those of the 7721 cells transfected with nm23-H1. Our findings indicate that the down-regulation of GnT-V by nm23-H1 contributes to the alterations in metastasis-related phenotypes, and is an important molecular mechanism of metastasis suppression mediated by nm23-H1.     

Increased susceptibility to apoptosis of human hepatocarcinoma cells transfected with antisense N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V cDNA.

The antisense cDNA of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (GnT-V, EC 2. 4.1.155) was constructed as pcDNA3/GnT-V-AS plasmid and transfected into 7721 cells, a human hepatocarcinoma cell line. The transfection was confirmed with Northern blot. By using HPLC and HRP-lectin staining, it was found that the cells transfected with pcDNA3/GnT-V-AS (GnT-V-AS/7721) expressed less GnT-V activity and beta-1,6-GlcNAc branching in the cell glycoproteins compared with the cells mock-transfected with the vector pcDNA3 (pcDNA3/7721). The growth rate of GnT-V-AS/7721 was decreased in serum-containing medium, while the cell death was accelerated in serum-free medium. The GnT-V-AS/7721 cells were more susceptible to the apoptosis induced by ATRA than the mock-transfected cells. This was evidenced by the obvious appearance of a hypoploid sub-G(1) fraction in the DNA histogram using FCM analysis, the more condensed new moon-type nuclei under morphological observation, and the more intensive TUNEL reaction for assaying the fragmented DNA. At the same time as GnT-V down-regulation by GnT-V-AS, an increase of another N-aceylglusaminyltransferase, GnT-III (EC 2.4.1.144), was observed, and the biological significance of this finding was discussed.     

乙型肝炎病毒X基因真核表达载体的构建及表达

目的:构建含有天然完整的乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)X基因序列的真核表达载体,观察其在肝癌细胞株中的表达。方法:设计并合成HBV X基因的引物,用PCR方法从含完整HBV全基因的HepG2细胞中扩增X基因序列,并将其连接到真核表达载体pVAX-1上,酶切、PCR鉴定;用Triton X-114去除质粒内毒素后,采用电穿孔法将重组质粒pVAX-HBV X和空质粒pVAX-1分别转染SMMC-7721细胞,RT-PCR法检测HBV X基因mRNA的表达,Western印迹鉴定HBV X蛋白(HBx)的表达。结果:酶切和PCR鉴定证实pVAX-HBV X载体中包含完整的HBVX基因片段,该重组质粒转染的SMMC-7721细胞中HBV X基因mRNA及HBx蛋白的表达稳定。结论:构建了HBV X基因的真核表达载体,为X基因及其编码蛋白的生物学功能的研究提供了可靠的基因材料。     

过表达miR-455促进肝癌细胞诱导的管型形成

目的:构建miR-455前体的真核表达载体,探讨其对肝癌细胞诱导管型形成的影响。方法:采用PCR扩增miR-455前体序列,通过双酶切将其连接到真核表达载体pcDNA3中。连接产物转化入大肠杆菌内进行扩增,采用菌落PCR、双酶切和测序鉴定重组子。将构建的质粒转染SMMC-7721细胞,通过real-time PCR检测成熟miR-455的表达,采用ELISA方法检测培养液上清中VEGF的表达。用该上清处理人脐静脉内皮细胞HUVEC后,检测管型形成的情况。结果:本实验成功构建了miR-455前体的真核表达载体,将其瞬时转染SMMC-7721细胞后,real-time PCR检测结果显示miR-455表达水平显著升高(P0.01)。过表达miR-455后,SMMC-7721细胞上清VEGF表达水平呈时间依赖性升高(24 h P0.05,48 h和72 h P0.01)。人脐静脉内皮细胞分别用转染pcDNA3和pcDNA3-pre-455的肝癌细胞培养液上清(72 h)重悬,接种于基质胶Matrigel上,转染pcDNA3-pre-455组形成典型的微管,管样结构明显完整。结论:过表达miR-455可促进肝癌细胞诱导的微管形成。