Hepatocellular carcinoma is recognized as one of the most frequently occurring malignant types of
liver cancer globally, making the identification of
biomarkers critically important. The aim of the present study was to identify the genes involved in the anticancer effects of
flavonoid compounds so that they may be used as targets for
cancer treatment.
Sinensetin (SIN), an isolated polymethoxyflavone monomer compound, possesses broad antitumor activities in vitro. Therefore, the identification of a transcriptome profile on the condition of cells treated with SIN may aid to better understand the genes involved and its mechanism of action. Genomic profiling studies of
cancer are increasing rapidly in order to provide gene expression data that can reveal prognostic
biomarkers to combat
liver cancer. In the present study, high-throughput
RNA sequencing (
RNA-seq) was performed to reveal differential gene expression patterns between SIN-treated and SIN-untreated human
liver cancer HepG2 cells. A total of 43 genes were identified to be differentially expressed (39 downregulated and 4 upregulated in the SIN-treated group compared with the SIN-untreated group). An extensive network analysis for these 43 genes resulted in the identification of 10 upregulated highly interconnected hub genes that contributed to the progression of
cancer. Functional enrichment analysis of these 10 hub genes revealed their involvement in the regulation of apoptotic processes, immune response and
tumor necrosis factor production. Additionally, the
mRNA expression levels of these 10 genes were evaluated using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, and the results were consistent with the
RNA-seq data. Overall, the results of the present study revealed differentially expressed genes involved in
cancer after SIN treatment in HepG2 cells and may help to develop strategies targeting these genes for treating
liver cancer.