Comprehensive transcriptome profiling of BET inhibitor-treated HepG2 cells

PLoS One. 2022 Apr 29;17(4):e0266966. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266966. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and poor prognosis. Emerging evidence suggests that epigenetic alterations play a crucial role in HCC, suggesting epigenetic inhibition as a promising therapeutic approach. Indeed, the bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) inhibitors inhibit the proliferation and invasion of various cancers but still lack a strong mechanistic rationale. Here, we identified the differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) and lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) in human HCC cell line HepG2 treated with the BET inhibitors, JQ1, OTX015, or ABBV-075. We analyzed the correlation between DEmRNAs and DElncRNAs in common for the three inhibitors based on their expression profiles and performed functional annotation pathway enrichment analysis. Most of these shared DEmRNAs and DElncRNAs, including some novel transcripts, were downregulated, indicating decreased proliferation/adhesion and increased apoptosis/inflammation. Our study suggests that BET proteins play a crucial role in regulating cancer progression-related genes and provide a valuable resource for novel putative biomarkers and therapeutic targets in HCC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / drug therapy
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / pathology
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Liver Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Liver Neoplasms* / pathology
  • RNA, Long Noncoding* / genetics

Substances

  • RNA, Long Noncoding

Grants and funding

- Funding Statement This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grants 2017M3A9G7073033 and 2020R1A2C1014193 (to Y. G. C.), 2016R1D1A1B04934970 (to K. H. J.), and 2014M3C9A3064693 (to Y. S. L.), 2020R1F1A1063217 (to B. B.) from the Korean government. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article. - Role of Funder statement Y.G.C. designed experiments, analyzed and interpreted the data, financial support, and final supervision of the manuscript; K.H.J. designed experiments, analyzed and interpreted the data, and financial support; Y.S.L. analyzed next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics data, and financial support; B.B. interpreted the data, edited the manuscript, and financial support.