Effects of BTG2 on proliferation inhibition and anti-invasion in human lung cancer cells

The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of the B cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) on lung cancer cell growth, proliferation, metastasis, and other biological characteristics and to provide experimental evidence for the biological treatment of human lung cancer. A pcDNA3.1-BTG2 eukaryotic expression vector was constructed and transfected into the human lung cancer cell line A549. The biological changes in the BTG2-expressing cells were analyzed using growth curves, the MTT (tetrazolium) assay, propidium iodide (PI) staining, and the Transwell invasion chamber. Additionally, Western blotting was used to determine the impact of BTG2 on the protein expression of cyclin D1, MMP-1, and MMP-2. Compared to the empty vector-transfected A549 cells or the mock-transfected A549 cells, the pcDNA3.1-BTG2-transfected A549 cells grew significantly slower. No significant differences were detected between the empty vector-transfected group and the mock-transfected A549 cells. The growth curve analysis and the PI staining showed that the pcDNA3.1-BTG2-transfected cells grew significantly slower than the empty vector-transfected A549 cells (P < 0.05). The cell invasion assay results suggested that the invasion rate of the pcDNA3.1-BTG2-transfected A549 cells was significantly slower than the invasion rate of the empty vector-transfected group and the mock-transfected group (P < 0.05). The overexpression of BTG2 may inhibit the protein expression of cyclin D1, MMP-1, and MMP-2 in A549 cells. The overexpression of BTG2 may inhibit the growth, proliferation, and invasiveness of the A549 human lung cancer cell line.