Hepatitis B virus x protein accelerated the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cell through lncRNA SNHG20/PTEN pathway.

This study investigated the underlying mechanism of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 20 (SNHG20) in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). LncRNA SNHG20 and PTEN expression levels were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot. The proliferation of HCC cells was measured by MTT assay, and the apoptosis of HCC cells was measured by flow cytometry analysis. SNHG20 expression level and HBx protein level were upregulated in HBV(+) group than that of HBV(-) group, whereas PTEN protein level was downregulated in HBV(+) group. Besides, SNHG20 was highly expressed in HBV(+) HCC cells than in HBV(-) HCC cells. SNHG20 expression level was positively associated with HBV x protein (HBx) in HCC cells, and HBx-SNHG20 involved in regulating the proliferation and apoptosis of HCC cells. Moreover, SNHG20 was confirmed to interact with PTEN, which negatively regulated PTEN protein level. Finally, we proved HBx-SNHG20-PTEN signalling pathway involved in the regulation of HCC cell proliferation and apoptosis. In vivo experiments showed SNHG20 knockdown inhibited tumour growth of HBV(+) HCC. HBx promoted the proliferation of HCC cell and reduced the apoptosis of HCC cells through the SNHG20/PTEN signalling pathway.