Effects of GSTP1 on Proliferation and Invasion of Human HepG2 Cells

Objective To investigate the effect of GSPT1 overexpression or knockdown on the proliferation and invasion of human HepG2 cells.

Methods HepG2 cells were infected with adenovirus (Ad)-GSTP- or Ad-shGSTP1 to overexpress or knockdown the expression of GSTP1 in HepG2 cells. The expression level of GSTP1 mRNA was examined by quantitative PCR; CCK-8 and Transwell assay were used to determine the cell viability and invasion, respectively. The expression of Akt, mTOR, p-Akt and p-mTOR were detected by Western blot.

Results The mRNA expression of GSTP1 was up-regulated after infection with Ad-GSTP1, and was down-regulated after infection with Ad-shGSTP1(P<0.05). The overexpression of GSTP1 significantly inhibited the viability and invasion of HepG2 cells(P<0.05), however, the knockdown of GSTP1 enhanced cell viability and invasion(P<0.05). Moreover, the phosphorylation level of Akt and mTOR were increased in the cells infected with Ad-GSTP1(P<0.05). Inverse results were obtained in the cells infected with Ad-shGSTP1.

Conclusion The viability and invasion of HepG2 cells could be inhibited by GSTP1 overexpression while enhanced by GSTP1 knockdown, which may be related with Akt/mTOR pathway.