Background: Our previous study showed that Cyclin B2 (CCNB2) is closely related to the occurrence and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Aim of the study: This study aimed to clarify the effect of CCNB2 gene silencing on tumorigenesis in nude mice and to detect the potential mechanism.
Methods: The effect of CCNB2 on HCC was tested in vivo. The downstream target genes of CCNB2 were predicted by proteomics and confirmed by western blot assay. The regulatory functions of CCNB2 in the proliferation and migration of HCC cells were determined through functional recovery experiments. The expression of the downstream target genes of CCNB2 was detected by immunohistochemistry.
Results: Knockdown of CCNB2 decreased tumour formation rate and tumour volume and weight and inhibited tumour proliferation. A total of 130 differentially expressed proteins were detected by proteomics, and Jagged 1 (JAG1) was predicted as the potential downstream target of CCNB2. Western blot assay revealed that CCNB2 and JAG1 expression was significantly correlated in HCC cells. The results of functional recovery experiments suggested that CCNB2 knockdown weakened the proliferation and migration ability of HCC cells, while JAG1 overexpression restored this ability of HCC cells that was weakened by CCNB2 knockdown. Immunohistochemistry showed that JAG1 expression was higher in HCC tissues than in paracancerous tissues and was related to tumour size and number and tumour thrombus formation.
Conclusions: The proliferation of HCC cells in vivo was inhibited by CCNB2 knockdown. CCNB2 may accelerate the proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells by increasing JAG1 expression.
Keywords: CCNB2; JAG1; hepatocellular carcinoma; migration; proliferation.