Transcriptional regulation of the tumor suppressor FHL2 by p53 in human kidney and liver cells.

Four and a Half LIM protein 2 (FHL2) is a LIM domain only protein that is able to form various protein complexes and regulate gene transcription. Recent findings showed that FHL2 is a potential tumor suppressor gene that was down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, FHL2 can bind to and activate the TP53 promoter in hepatic cells.

Identification of FHL2-regulated genes in liver by microarray and bioinformatics analysis.

FHL2 is a LIM domain protein that is able to form various protein complexes and regulate gene transcription. Recent findings showed that FHL2 is a potential tumor suppressor gene that was down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma. In the present study, microarray profiling of gene expression was performed to identify the genes regulated by FHL2 in mouse livers.

Characterization of human FHL2 transcript variants and gene expression regulation in hepatocellular carcinoma.

The four-and-a-half LIM protein 2 (FHL2) was originally identified to be expressed abundantly in the heart, as well as in a wide range of tissues demonstrated in various studies. The human FHL2 gene expresses different transcripts which are known to differ only in the 5'UTR region. However, little is known about the functional role of the different variants and the mechanism of gene regulation.

FHL2 exhibits anti-proliferative and anti-apoptotic activities in liver cancer cells.

FHL2 displays tumor promoting or tumor suppressing activities depending on the types of tumor cells. In this study, we demonstrated that FHL2 overexpression inhibits the proliferation of human HCC cells Hep3B through cell cycle regulation by decreasing cyclin D1 expression while increasing the expressions of p21 and p27. FHL2 overexpression also inhibits migration and invasion of Hep3B cells through the regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.