Transfection with Livin and Survivin shRNA inhibits the growth and proliferation of non-small cell lung cancer cells

Abstract

Lung cancer is reported to be a major public health issue worldwide and the overall prognosis of patients remains poor. The expression levels of Livin and Survivin, of the inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) family, are associated with prognostic significance in the majority of solid tumors. Therefore, in the presents study, short hairpin (sh)RNA expression vectors inhibiting the Livin and Survivin genes were constructed to examine the effects of the transfection of Livin shRNA and/or Survivin shRNA on the biological functions of tumor cells. The transfection efficiency was measured using fluorescence reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses. The cell growth inhibition ratio was measured using a CCK assay. Cell apoptosis following transfection and in tumor tissues were measured using a TUNEL assay, and a cancer xenograft model was used to investigate the effect of Livin shRNA and/or Survivin shRNA on tumor growth. The results indicated that the mRNA and protein expression levels were suppressed following the transfection of Livin and Survivin shRNA into tumor cells (P<0.05, compared with control group). The growth of tumor cells in vivo and in vitro was significantly inhibited following transfection with Livin and Survivin shRNA, compared with that in the other groups (P<0.05). Taken together, the transfection of cells with Livin and Survivin inhibited tumor growth in vivo and in vitro, with the co‑transfection of Livin and Survivin shRNA showing increased efficiency, compared with transfection of either the Livin vector or Survivin vector alone. The combined inhibition of Livin and Survivin may be a promising multitargeted gene therapeutic strategy in cancer treatment.

Network Pharmacology Integrated Molecular Docking to Explore the Mechanism of Blister Beetle Therapy for Lung Adenocarcinoma

“…Survivin silencing resensitized A549/VCR cells to vincristine and methotrexate in vitro [ 34 ]. Inhibition of survivin expression by the short hairpin RNA expression vector significantly reduced the growth of lung cancer cells in vivo and in vitro [ 35 ]. In addition, studies have shown that the polymorphisms of survivin-31 G/C and 9194 A/G are related to the risk of lung cancer.…”

MicroRNA-34a and E4orf4 synergistically promote apoptosis in Hela cells

“…It is widely accepted that apoptosis is regulated by multiple genes. Survivin, as a member of the IAP (apoptosis inhibiting protein) family overexpressed in various tumours, is one of the strongest apoptosis inducers [3]. Proliferation of cancer cells is promoted by survivin through direct inhibition of the activity of caspase-3 and/or caspase-7 or through prevention of mitochondria releasing cytochrome C, which could in turn inactivate the caspase.…”