Background & objective: Sep15 is a selenium-containing protein identified in 1998. This protein may be involved in cancer etiology and it may have redox function. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the redox function of Sep15 and tumor development.
Methods: The full-length DNA sequence of Sep15 was obtained by RT-PCR and then recombined to eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1(+). The BEL-7402- Sep15 cell line, which expressed the high levels of Sep15 by transfecting the cultured hepatocarcinoma cell line BEL-7402 with pcDNA3.1-Sep15 was generated. From morphologic investigation, cell growth curve, clone formation and nude mice tumor growth curve, the relationship between Sep15 and hepatocarcinoma cell line BEL-7402 was determined. Furthermore, the redox reaction of sep15 was detected by MTT assay.
Results: There was no distinct effect of transfection of Sep15 gene on BEL-7402-Sep15 cell. The cell survival rate was drastically different between BEL-7402-Sep15 cell and both BEL-7402- pcDNA cell and BEL-7402-Sep15 cell after foreign H2O2 reactive oxygen stress (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Transfecting Sep15 gene did not influence the growth characteristics of BEL-7402 cell line and Sep15 may have redox function.