The effect of hepatitis B virus X protein on the c-met promoter activity in HepG2 cells / 中华肝脏病杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To confirm the effect of hepatitis B virus X (HBx) protein on the c-met promoter activity in HepG2 cells.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The expression of c-met protein was detected by western blot in HBx-transfected HepG2 cells, the human c-met promote activity was checked by luciferase assay using five different constructs with deletion or point mutation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>HBx protein stimulated the expression of the c-met in HepG2 cells. The enhanced expression of c-met in HBx-transfected cells was mediated by the activation of AP-2 and SP-1 transcriptional activity at the c-met promoter region (-183bp--100bp), HBx increased the invasiveness of HepG2 cells as determined by Matrigel invasion assay.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These results suggests that HBx induces the expression of c-met through the activation of AP-2 and SP-1 activity at the promoter region; in addition, our data indicate that HBx stimulates the invasive potential of HepG2 cells.</p>