TFF3 knockout in human pituitary adenoma cell HP75 facilitates cell apoptosis via mitochondrial pathway.

Trefoil factor 3 (TFF3), a regulatory protein composed of 59 amino acids, has been suggested to be involved in pathogenesis, proliferation, differentiation, invasion, migration and apoptosis in multiple malignant tumors. This study thus investigated the effect of TFF3 knockout in human pituitary adenoma cell line HP75 on cell apoptosis and related pathways. RNA interference approach was used to knock down the expression of TFF3 protein.