Modulation of gene expression in MHCC97 cells by interferon alpha.
OBJECTIVE
To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the inhibitory effects of IFN-alpha on tumor growth and metastasis in MHCC97 xenografts.


METHODS
Three thousand international units per milliliter of IFN-alpha-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-alpha-repressed and 39-stimulated genes or expressed sequence tags from 8,464 known human genes were found to be regulated by IFN-alpha 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.


CONCLUSIONS
IFN-alpha 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.
Wu
Wei-Zhong
WZ
Liver Cancer Institute and Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Sun
Hui-Chuan
HC
Wang
Lu
L
Chen
Jie
J
Liu
Kang-Da
KD
Tang
Zhao-You
ZY
D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
D016898:Interferon-alpha