title: Down-regulation of G protein-coupled receptor 137 by RNA interference inhibits cell growth of two hepatoma cell lines.
abstract: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are important signal transduction mediators and pharmacological therapeutic targets. G protein-coupled receptor 137 (GPR137) was initially reported as a novel orphan GPCR around 10 years ago. Some orphan GPCRs have been implicated in cancer cell proliferation and migration. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of GPR137 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). GPR137 is widely expressed in several human HCC cell lines, as determined by real-time PCR. We then applied lentivirus mediated RNA interference (RNAi) to knock down GPR137 expression in two HCC cell lines HepG2 and Bel7404. Depletion of GPR137 remarkably inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation capacity. Knockdown of GPR137 in HepG2 cells led to cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase and G2/M phase, and induced cell apoptosis, as determined by flow cytometry analysis, which contributed to cell growth inhibition. Our findings suggested that GPR137 could facilitate HCC cell proliferation and thus promote hepatocarcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Changzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changzhou, 213003, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Linyuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Tianping
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Huping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xinguo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ge
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D015536:Down-Regulation; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C112315:GPR137B protein, human; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
keywords: GPR137; RNA interference; hepatocellular carcinoma; therapeutic target