Open AccessThe Suppressive Role of SOX7 in Hepatocarcinogenesis
Author(s) -
Chong Wang,
Yu Guo,
Jing Wang,
Zhiqun Min
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0097433
Subject(s) - cyclin d1 , ectopic expression , cancer research , cell growth , cyclin a , transcription factor , cell cycle , cyclin , biology , cell cycle checkpoint , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , cell culture , cell , gene , genetics
SOX7 is a transcription factor mediating various developmental processes. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Here, we assessed the role of SOX7 in hepatocarcinogenesis. We found HCC samples exhibited lower levels of SOX7 mRNA and protein expression than non-tumor samples, and the expression of SOX7 was negatively correlated with tumor size. SOX7 expression was also reduced in four HCC cell lines (SMMC-7721, Hep3B, HepG2 and Huh 7). Overexpression of SOX7 could inhibit HCC cell growth, with G1to S phase arrest. In SOX7-overexpression cells, cyclin D1 and c-myc, two cell cycle promoters, were down-regulated. Moreover, ectopic expression of cyclin D1 or c-myc could override G1 to S pahse arrest induced by SOX7. Furthermore, overexpression of SOX7 suppressed tumor formation with down-regulation of cyclin D1 and c-myc in vivo . The expression of Ki-67, a proliferation marker, was also reduced in SOX7-overexpression tumors. Taken together, our study suggests that SOX7 plays an important inhibitory role in hepatocarcinogenesis, and might be a novel target for HCC therapy.