siRNA targeting STAT5 induces apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SMMC-7721 / 第三军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effects of inhibition of STAT5 gene expression by RNA interference technology on apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SMMC-7721. Methods Three siRNA eukaryotic expression vectors against STAT5 were constructed and transfected with lipofectamineTM 2000 into SMMC-7721 cells. The changes in STAT5 expression were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot. Cell apoptosis was assayed by flow cytometry (FCM). Results The sequence-specific siRNA could effectively and specifically inhibit STAT5 gene expression at both mRNA and protein levels. The inhibition rates of STAT5 mRNA expression were 70.43%, 43.02%, and 45.07%, respectively. The inhibition rates of STAT5 protein expression were 67.45%, 37.36%, and 41.86%, respectively. At 48 h after transfection, apoptosis rate was 25.61%. Conclusion siRNA against STAT5 can inhibit STAT5 gene expression in SMMC-7721 cells effectively and specifically and induce apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells. siRNA targeting STAT5 has a great potential value in gene therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.