pEGFP-N1-Mediated BTI Expression Inhibits Migration and Cell Cycle Progression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma HepG2 Cells

Buckwheat, a specialty grain in China, is a common component of food products and medicines. BTI (Buckwheat trypsin inhibitor) reportedly inhibits tumor cells growth. Laser confocal microscopy, MTT assay, wound healing assay, flow cytometry, qRT-PCR, and Western blot were used to investigate the effect of cell viability, adhesion, migration, apoptosis, and cell cycle after pEGFP-N1-BTI transfected in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. The pEGFP-N1-mediated BTI expression significantly inhibited proliferation, adhesion, and migration of HepG2 cells. Meanwhile, the cell apoptosis rates were increased and the cell cycle was arrested. Moreover, pEGFP-N1-mediated BTI enhanced the protein expression level of E-cadherin and decreased those of MMP-2 and MMP-9. The potential mechanism involved the following: p53, p21, p63, and p73 up-regulation; CyclinD1, CyclinE1, and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK2, CDK4, and CDK7) down-regulation; and arrest of the HepG2 cells cycle in G1 phase.