Transcriptome alterations in HepG2 cells induced by shRNA knockdown and overexpression of gene.

Transmembrane 2 () gene inhibits chronic hepatitis-B virus (HBV) infection, while the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Transcriptome alterations in HepG2 cells following overexpression or silencing by shRNA were analyzed by next-generation sequencing. Both overexpression and knockdown of the gene caused wide-spread changes in gene expression in HepG2 cells. Differentially expressed genes caused by altered gene expression were associated with multiple biological processes linked with viral infection and various signaling pathways. KEGG analysis revealed that many of the differentially expressed genes were enriched in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Moreover, we show that genes related to the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, such as , and , are biological targets regulated by in HepG2 cells. This is the first transcriptome-wide study in which -regulated genes in HepG2 cells have been screened. Our findings elucidate the molecular events associated with -mediated hepatocyte pathogenesis in chronic HBV infection.