Hepatitis B Virus X Protein-Induced ROR γ Expression to Promote the Migration and Proliferation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Biomed Res Int. 2019 Nov 3:2019:5407126. doi: 10.1155/2019/5407126. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Aberrant expression of RORγ is implicated in cancer development. A previous study identified that RORγ functions as a tumor promoter to drive hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) growth. However, its expression and significance in HCC remain unclear. The central finding of this work is that RORγ was overexpressed in HCC due to its dysfunction of promoter methylation, and hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) can remarkably induce the expression of RORγ in hepatocellular carcinoma through enhancing the transcriptional function. Also, the HBx-induced RORγ could promote the migration and proliferation of hepatoma cells. Hence, these results suggest that RORγ was an important regulator in HCC, and our finding provides new insights into the significance of RORγ in HCC.

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / virology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Down-Regulation
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic*
  • Genes, Reporter
  • Hepatitis B / virology*
  • Hepatitis B virus / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms / virology*
  • Methylation
  • Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3 / genetics
  • Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3 / metabolism*
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics
  • Trans-Activators / genetics
  • Trans-Activators / metabolism*
  • Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins

Substances

  • Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3
  • Trans-Activators
  • Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
  • hepatitis B virus X protein