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Updated: Feb 19, 2026
Analysis of Side Population in Solid Tumor Cell Lines
Published on: February 23, 2021
BTG2 Is Down-Regulated and Inhibits Cancer Stem Cell-Like Features of Side Population Cells in Hepatocellular
Chen-Song Huang1, Jing-Ming Zhai2, Xiao-Xu Zhu1
1Department of Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
Background:
Our previous study found that B cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) was hyper-methylated and down-regulated in side population (SP) cells of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line. However, its clinical significances and biological impacts on HCC SP cells remained unclear.
Aims:
To investigate the prognostic value of BTG2 gene in HCC and its influences on cancer stem cells (CSCs)-like traits of HCC cell line SP cells.
Methods:
BTG2 expression in human HCC and adjacent non-cancerous tissues was detected by immunohistochemical staining and quantitative real-time PCR, and also obtained from GEO and TCGA data. Its prognostic values were assessed. Its biological influences on HCC cell line SP cells were evaluated using cell viability, cell cycle, plate clone-forming assay, and chemoresistance in vitro and tumorigenicity in vivo.
Results:
BTG2 expression was significantly suppressed in human HCC compared to adjacent non-cancerous tissues. BTG2 expression was correlated with TNM stage, tumor size and vascular invasion. Lower expression of BTG2 was associated with poorer overall survival and disease-free survival. In vitro, overexpression of BTG2 substantially suppressed cell proliferation and accumulation of HCC cell line SP cells in G0/G1 phase. Colony formation ability was markedly suppressed by BTG2 overexpression. Moreover, sensitivity of HCC cell line SP cells to 5-fluorouracil was substantially increased by overexpression of BTG2. Furthermore, tumorigenicity of HCC cell line SP cells transfected with BTG2 plasmids was significantly reduced in vivo.
Conclusions:
BTG2 gene could regulate the CSC-like traits of HCC cell line SP cells, and it represented as a molecular prognostic marker for HCC.
Insights
The B cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) is suppressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), correlating with poor prognosis. Restoring BTG2 in HCC cells inhibits cancer stem cell traits and improves treatment sensitivity.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Stem Cell Research
Background:
- B cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) was previously found to be hyper-methylated and downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) side population (SP) cells.
- The clinical significance and biological impact of BTG2 on HCC SP cells remained unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prognostic value of the BTG2 gene in HCC.
- To determine the influence of BTG2 on cancer stem cell (CSC)-like traits in HCC cell line SP cells.
Main Methods:
- BTG2 expression was analyzed in human HCC tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues using immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR.
- Publicly available data from GEO and TCGA were utilized to assess prognostic values.
- In vitro and in vivo experiments evaluated BTG2's effects on cell viability, cell cycle, proliferation, chemoresistance, and tumorigenicity of HCC SP cells.
Main Results:
- BTG2 expression was significantly lower in HCC tissues compared to non-cancerous tissues and correlated with advanced TNM stage, larger tumor size, and vascular invasion.
- Lower BTG2 expression was associated with poorer overall and disease-free survival.
- Overexpression of BTG2 suppressed HCC SP cell proliferation, induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, reduced colony formation, enhanced sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil, and diminished tumorigenicity in vivo.
Conclusions:
- The BTG2 gene plays a role in regulating CSC-like traits in HCC SP cells.
- BTG2 serves as a potential molecular prognostic marker for HCC.
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