Expression of CT antigen gene CSAG1 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and its effect on growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cell in vitro

Objective: To study the expression of CSAG1 gene in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and the silencing effect of CSAG1 gene on the cell growth of focus, and a cell line derived from liver cancer. Methods: The expression of CSAG1 was investigated through semi-quantitative RT-PCR in 12 pairs of HCCs compared with adjacent non-cancerous livers (non-HCC). The expression of CSAG1 gene was valuated in 6 HCC-derived cell lines, one fetal liver tissue and one normal liver tissue by RT-PCR, respectively. The cell growth and colony formation were observed as the silencing of CSAG1 by a shRNA method. Simultaneously, the cell cycle was detected through the fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS). Results: CSAG1 was significantly up-regulated in 75% (9/12) HCC specimens at the mRNA level compared with non-HCCs. The silencing of CSAG1 gene in focus cells markedly inhibited the cell growth, weakened the ability of colony formation, and significantly decreased S-phase population compared with the control cells with the endogenous CSAG1 expression. Conclusions: The up-regulation of CSAG1 as a tumor-associated gene can contribute to the oncogenesis of HCC. It may be an important event in hepatocarcinogensis and may be a new candidate target in HCC treatment.