TIEG1 (TGF-β inducible early gene 1) plays a significant role in regulating cell 
proliferation and apoptosis in various cell types. Previous studies have shown a 
close relationship between the expression level of TIEG1 and various cancers, 
including breast, prostate, colorectal and pancreatic cancer. In this study, we 
up-regulated the gene expression of TIEG1 in SW1990 pancreatic cancer cell line 
by a lentivirus transfection system and investigated its potential as a 
therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer. The results showed that 
lentivirus-mediated overexpression of TIEG1 gene inhibited human pancreatic 
cancer SW1990 cell proliferation and caused the cell cycle arrest at the 
G1-phase in vitro. SW1990 cells transduced with lenti-TIEG1 showed significant 
inhibition of colony formation and cancer cell growth in 3-D culture model. 
Moreover, overexpression of TIEG1 gene significantly slowed the growth of SW1990 
xenografts in nude mice. Taken together, these data provided evidence that 
overexpression of TIEG1 gene by a lentivirus transfection system led to 
suppressed human pancreatic cancer cell growth and might therefore be a feasible 
approach in the clinical management of pancreatic cancer.