Cellular transcriptomics: gelsolin negatively regulates the expression of apoptosis-associated genes and inhibits apoptosis in hepatocarcinoma cells.

Gelsolin (GSN), which is a Ca(2+)-dependent actin filament severing and capping protein, plays a critical role in the cancer progress and has the potential for providing a novel thread for cancer therapy. In current study, we demonstrate the roles of GSN on anti-apoptosis of hepatocarcinoma cells by transcriptome RNA-seq method. Then flow cytometry (FCM), in-cell immunoblotting and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to examine the GSN regulatory cell apoptosis. The results revealed GSN significantly suppresses apoptosis-associated functional categories through down-regulating apoptosis-associated genes in 5 apoptosis terms and 6 relevant KEGG pathways. FCM showed a significant lower apoptotic rate in GSN-SMMC7721 (P<0.05). In-cell immunoblotting detected discrepant expression of the apoptosis factors among GSN expressed/shRNA transfectants (P<0.05). TEM observed the discernible apoptosis morphology. Above results suggest a negative relationship between GSN expression and hepatocarcinoma cell apoptosis. GSN overexpression suppresses apoptosis while down-regulated GSN promotes apoptosis. The possible mechanism could be associated with the regulation of GSN on the apoptosis-associated pathways and the apoptosis factors caspase 3 and bcl-2.