Silencing of NUF2 inhibits tumor growth and induces apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinomas.
BACKGROUND
As an important component of the NDC80 kinetochore complex, NUF2 is essential for kinetochore-microtubule attachment and chromosome segregation. Previous studies also suggested its involvement in development of various kinds of human cancers, however, its expression and functions in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still unclear.


METHODS
In the present study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that NUF2 is aberrant in human HCCs and associated with cell growth.


RESULTS
Our results showed significantly elevated expression of NUF2 in human HCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues, and high expression of NUF2 in HCC cell lines. Using lentivirus-mediated silencing of NUF2 in HepG2 human HCC cells, we found that NUF2 depletion markedly suppressed proliferation and colony formation capacity in vitro, and dramatically hampered tumor growth of xenografts in vivo. Moreover, NUF2 silencing could induce cell cycle arrest and trigger cell apoptosis. Additionally, altered levels of cell cycle and apoptosis related proteins including cyclin B1, Cdc25A, Cdc2, Bad and Bax were also observed.


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, these results demonstrate that NUF2 plays a critical role in the regulation of HCC cell proliferation and apoptosis, indicating that NUF2 may serve as a potential molecular target for therapeutic approaches.
Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Medical School of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China E-mail : mag_little@163.com.
Qiang
Q
Liu
She-Jiao
SJ
Dai
Hong
H
Li
Lei
L
Dong
Yu-Ping
YP
Peng
D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics*; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000235:genetics*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D016086:Lentivirus; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C490197:NUF2 protein, human