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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Mapping the Structure-Function Relationships of Disordered Oncogenic Transcription Factors Using Transcriptomic Analysis
Published on: June 27, 2020
A potential oncogenic role of the commonly observed E2F5 overexpression in hepatocellular carcinoma
Yuzhu Jiang1, Seon-Hee Yim, Hai-Dong Xu
1Integrated Research Center for Genome Polymorphism and Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Socho-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Aim:
To explore the expression pattern of E2F5 in primary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and elucidate the roles of E2F5 in hepatocarcinogenesis.
Methods:
E2F5 expression was analyzed in 120 primary HCCs and 29 normal liver tissues by immunohistochemistry analysis. E2F5-small interfering RNA was transfected into HepG2, an E2F5-overexpressed HCC cell line. After E2F5 knockdown, cell growth capacity and migrating potential were examined.
Results:
E2F5 was significantly overexpressed in primary HCCs compared with normal liver tissues (P = 0.008). The E2F5-silenced cells showed significantly reduced proliferation (P = 0.004). On the colony formation and soft agar assays, the number of colonies was significantly reduced in E2F5-silenced cells (P = 0.004 and P = 0.009, respectively). E2F5 knockdown resulted in the accumulation of G0/G1 phase cells and a reduction of S phase cells. The number of migrating/invading cells was also reduced after E2F5 knockdown (P = 0.021).
Conclusion:
To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that E2F5 is commonly overexpressed in primary HCC and that E2F5 knockdown significantly repressed the growth of HCC cells.
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