Effect of Down-regulation of HOXB7 Expression on Proliferation, Migration and Invasion Abilities of Hepatoma Cells

Objective To investigate the influence and partial underlying mechanism of HOXB7 on the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of hepatoma cells.

Methods SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cell lines with high expression of HOXB7 mRNA were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. To assess the silence efficiency of shRNA, the expression of HOXB7 at mRNA and protein levels were detected by real-time PCR and Western blot in the hepatoma cells transfected with shRNA. The cell proliferation, invasion and migration abilities of hepatoma cells were measured by CCK8 assay, Transwell assay and cell scratch test. The expression of Smad3 and p-Smad3 in SMMC-7721 cells were measured by Western blot.

Results The expression of HOXB7 at mRNA and protein levels were reduced significantly after shRNA transfection, and the proliferation, invasion and migration abilities of SMMC-7721 cells were reduced at the same time. And the expression of p-Smad3 protein in TGF-β pathway was decreased.

Conclusion HOXB7 could enhance the proliferation, invasion and migration abilities of hepatoma cells, which may be related to promoting the phosphorylation of Smad3 in TGF-β pathway.