Background: To understand the molecular mechanisms of caveolin-1 downregulation by hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx).Methods: The DNA methylation status of the caveolin-1 promoter was examined by nested methylation-specific PCR of 33 hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples. The SMMC-7721 hepatoma cell line was transfected with a recombinant HBx adenoviral vector, and the effects of HBx protein on caveolin-1 expression and promoter methylation were examined and confirmed by sequencing. A reporter gene containing the caveolin-1 promoter region was constructed, and the effects of HBx on the transcriptional activity of the promoter were also studied.Results: Methylation of the caveolin-1 promoter was detected in 84.8% (28/33) of HBV-infected HCC samples. Expression of caveolin-1 was significantly downregulated (P = 0.022), and multiple CpG sites in the promoter region of caveolin-1 were methylated in SMMC-7721 cells after HBx transfection. Transfected HBx significantly suppressed caveolin-1 promoter activity (P = 0.001).Conclusions: HBx protein induces methylation of the caveolin-1 promoter region and suppresses its expression. © 2012 Yan et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
CITATION STYLE
Yan, J., Lu, Q., Dong, J., Li, X., Ma, K., & Cai, L. (2012). Hepatitis B virus X protein suppresses caveolin-1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating DNA methylation. BMC Cancer, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2407-12-353
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