Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor which can lead to development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tissue transglutaminase-2 (TG2) has been shown to be critical for cancer progression. However, how TG2 promotes the progression of HBV-related HCC remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to explore the expression and function of TG2 on HBV-related HCC progression. The expression levels of TG2 were examined in a series of HBV-related HCC tissues and a panel of HCC cell lines. The effects of TG2 knockdown on the proliferation and migration of HBV-related cells were determined. TG2 expression was found to be significantly upregulated in HBV-related HCC tissues. TG2 expression was higher in HBV-related HCC cell lines than HBV-unrelated HCC cell lines. Moreover, inhibition of TG2 in HCC cell lines HepG2.2.15 and Hep3B could inhibit cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Our results indicated that TG2 could serve as a promising target for treatment of HBV-related HCC patients.
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The work was supported by grants from the National Scientific and Technological Major Project of China (No.2013ZX10004904).
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For the use of these clinical materials for research purposes, prior patient consent and approval from the Institutional Research Ethics Committee of The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine were obtained.
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Chengbo Yu and Qing Cao contributed equally to this work
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Yu, C., Cao, Q., Chen, P. et al. Tissue transglutaminase 2 exerts a tumor-promoting role in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma. Tumor Biol. 37, 16269–16274 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-016-5425-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-016-5425-z