Liver Cancer
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 14, 2005; 11(42): 6613-6619
Published online Nov 14, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i42.6613
Modulation of gene expression in MHCC97 cells by interferon alpha
Wei-Zhong Wu, Hui-Chuan Sun, Lu Wang, Jie Chen, Kang-Da Liu, Zhao-You Tang
Wei-Zhong Wu, Hui-Chuan Sun, Lu Wang, Jie Chen, Kang-Da Liu, Zhao-You Tang, Liver Cancer Institute and Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 136 Yi Xue Yuan Road, Shanghai 200032, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by the Key Projects for the Clinical Medicine from the Ministry of Public Health of China (2002–2005)
Correspondence to: Zhao-You Tang, Liver Cancer Institute and Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 136 Yi Xue Yuan Road, Shanghai 200032, China. zytang@srcap.stc.sh.cn
Telephone: +86-21-6403-7181 Fax: +86-21-6403-7181
Received: March 17, 2005
Revised: April 26, 2005
Accepted: April 30, 2005
Published online: November 14, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the inhibitory effects of IFN-α on tumor growth and metastasis in MHCC97 xenografts.

METHODS: Three thousand international units per milliliter of IFN-α-treated and -untreated MHCC97 cells were enrolled for gene expression analysis using cDNA microarray. The mRNA levels of several differentially expressed genes in cDNA microarray were further identified by Northern blot and RT-PCR.

RESULTS: A total of 190 differentially expressed genes including 151 IFN-α-repressed and 39 -stimulated genes or expressed sequence tags from 8 464 known human genes were found to be regulated by IFN-α in MHCC97. With a few exceptions, mRNA levels of the selected genes in RT-PCR and Northern blot were in good agreement with those in cDNA microarray.

CONCLUSION: IFN-α might exert its complicated anti-tumor effects on MHCC97 xenografts by regulating the expression of functional genes involved in cell metabolism, proliferation, morphogenesis, angiogenesis, and signaling.

Keywords: Interferon α; cDNA microarray; Gene expression profile; HCC