Expression data from SOX9 knockdown in HCC cells

Sorafenib is a multi-kinase blocker and one of the few suggested drug treatments for aggressive hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, drug resistance to sorafenib may often occur over time and cause further tumor aggression. Recently, cancer stem cells were found in HCC and were speculated to be involved in tumor progression. SOX9 is highly expressed in HCC cancer stem cells and promotes cell proliferation and self-renewal. Meanwhile, HCC patients with higher SOX9 expression show poorer prognosis [1]. Whether SOX9 is involved in sorafenib resistance in HCC is still unclear. Here, we found that sorafenib treatment increased SOX9 expression in HCC cell lines. Overexpression of exogenous SOX9 in HCC increased sorafenib resistance both in vitro and in vivo, whereas down-regulation led to inhibition of sorafenib resistance. Knock-down of SOX9 by RNA interference caused down-regulation of downstream genes, including ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2). The drug resistance to sorafenib caused by SOX9 overexpression could be ameliorated by overexpression of SOX9 in combination withby ABCG2 inhibition in HCC cell lines. In the cohort of patients resistant to sorafenib, we found that patients with lower SOX9 expression had more prolonged overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Cox analysis shows that SOX9 expression exerts as an independent risk factor for HCC, and logistic regression analysis reveals that SOX9 expression, tumor capsule deficiency, tumor diameters, and microvascular invasion are risk factors for poor prognosis of HCC patients. These findings demonstrate that SOX9 enhances sorafenib resistance and may regulate this process by modulating ABCG2 expression. To examine the cellular pathways that result from SOX-9 knockdown, we performed microarray expression analysis between the SOX9-knockdown HepG2 cell line and the empty virus control cell line. Their respective RNA was extracted for Affymetrix microarrays.