The role of the TOB1 gene in growth suppression of hepatocellular carcinoma

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Sheyu Lin1, Qingfeng Zhu, Yang Xu

  • 1Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Children's Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032; ; School of Life Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, P.R. China.

Oncology Letters
|November 20, 2012
PubMed

Insights

The TOB1 gene is not a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its expression and methylation patterns in HCC tumors did not differ from normal tissues, suggesting it does not play a suppressive role in liver cancer development.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • The TOB1 gene, part of the BTG/Tob family, is located on chromosome 17q21.
  • TOB1 has been proposed as a candidate tumor suppressor gene in breast cancer.
  • Its role and regulation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the expression levels of TOB1 in HCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues.
  • To analyze the methylation status of the TOB1 promoter region in HCC and breast cancer.
  • To determine if TOB1 functions as a tumor suppressor in HCC and if its expression is epigenetically regulated.

Main Methods:

  • Quantitative analysis of TOB1 gene expression in HCC tumor and normal tissues.
  • MassArray-based quantitative methylation analysis of the TOB1 promoter in HCC and breast cancer.
  • Treatment of HCC cell lines (HepG2) with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine to assess methylation-dependent regulation of TOB1 expression.

Main Results:

  • No significant difference in TOB1 expression was found between HCC tumor and adjacent normal tissues.
  • Quantitative methylation analysis revealed no significant differences in CpG sites or the global promoter region between HCC and breast cancer.
  • Treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine did not lead to an elevation of TOB1 mRNA in HepG2 cells.
  • TOB1 expression or its rate of change did not correlate with clinical outcomes, overall survival, or cumulative recurrence rates in HCC patients.

Conclusions:

  • TOB1 does not appear to function as a tumor suppressor gene in hepatocellular carcinoma.
  • The expression of TOB1 in HCC is not significantly regulated by promoter methylation.
  • TOB1 is unlikely to be a prognostic biomarker for HCC given its lack of correlation with clinical outcomes.

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