Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE1), a bifunctional AP endonuclease/redox factor, is important in DNA repair and redox signaling, may be associated with radioresistance. Here we investigate whether targeted inhibition of APE1 can sensitize tumor cells to irradiation in vitro and in vivo. We first constructed chimeric adenoviral vector Ad5/F35 carrying human APE1 siRNA (Ad5/ F35-APE1 siRNA). The infectivity of chimeric Ad5/F35 to LOVO colon cancer cells was greater than that of Ad5. APE1 was strongly expressed and nuclear factor kB (NF-kB), a downstream molecule of APE1, known as a radioresistance factor, was constitutively active in LOVO cells. Infection of LOVO cells with Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA resulted in a dose-dependent decrease of APE1 protein and AP endonuclease activity in vitro. Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA significantly enhanced sensitivity of LOVO cells to irradiation in clonogenic survival assays, associated with increased cell apoptosis. The APE1 expression in LOVO cells was induced by irradiation in a dose-dependent manner, accompanied with the enhancement of DNA-binding activity of NF-kB and Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA effectively inhibited constitutive and irradiation-induced APE1 expression and NF-kB activation. In a subcutaneous nude mouse colon cancer model, Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA (5 Â 10 8 IU, intratumoral injection) inhibited the expression of APE1 protein in LOVO xenografts, and significantly enhanced inhibition of tumor growth by irradiation. In conclusion, APE1 may be involved as one of the radioresistance factors, and targeted inhibition of APE1 shows an effective means of enhancing tumor sensitivity to radiotherapy.