TGF-beta 1 promotes human hepatic carcinoma HepG2 cells invasion by upregulating autophagy

OBJECTIVE: To study the role of TGF-beta 1 in autophagy and invasion ability of human hepatic carcinoma HepG2 cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cultured HepG2 cells were treated with different concentrations of TGF-beta 1 for 24 h. The protein expression levels of autophagy relative marker LC3 and Beclin1 were detected by Western blot. The effect of TGF-beta 1 on invasion ability of HepG2 cells was detected with transwell method. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that TGF-beta 1 was able to activate autophagy of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) could reverse TGF-beta 1 induced autophagy process. Also, TGF-beta 1 significantly promotes the invasion ability of HepG2 cells; however, this process could effectively reverse by autophagy inhibitor 3-MA. CONCLUSIONS: TGF-beta 1 enhances HepG2 cells invasion by upregulating autophagy.