OBJECTIVE To investigate the regulatory mechanisms of peiminine on human hepatocellular carcinoma by transcriptome sequencing of Huh-7 liver cancer cells treated with peiminine.

METHODS Huh-7 cells treated with peiminine was selected, at the same time, untreated group was selected as control．High throughput sequencing was used to detect the expression profiles of mRNA in each group. Then the mRNA variance analysis and associated bioinformatics analysis were performed. The mRNA and protein expression level were validated by qPCR and Western blotting.

RESULTS The survival rate and proliferation ability of Huh-7 cells were markedly reduced by peiminine, along with abnormal morphologic changes. The transcriptome analysis showed that 1513 genes were differentially expressed after peiminine treatment, including 680 down-regulated and 833 up-regulated genes. Gene ontology and KEGG analysis suggested that some classical pathways, such as p53, cell senescence, and cell cycle signaling, were significantly enriched. qPCR and Western blotting results showed consistent expression trends of differential genes and proteins with transcriptome analysis.

CONCLUSION This study has provided a theoretical basis for regulation of peiminine in Huh-7 cells, which lays a foundation for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.