title: Disappearance of the angiogenic potential of endothelial cells caused by Argonaute2 knockdown.
abstract: Argonaute2 (Ago2), a component protein of RNA-induced silencing complex, plays a central role in RNA interference. We focused on the involvement of Ago2 in angiogenesis. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) stimulated with several growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor were used for angiogenesis assays. We applied polycation liposomes for transfection of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to determine the biological effects of siRNA for Ago2 (siAgo2) on HUVECs. The proliferation study indicated that siAgo2 significantly suppressed the growth of HUVECs compared with control siRNA. TUNEL staining showed a certain population of HUVECs treated with siAgo2 underwent apoptosis. Furthermore, the treatment with siAgo2 suppressed the tube formation of HUVECs and significantly reduced the length of the tubes. These present data demonstrate that siAgo2 inhibited indispensable events of angiogenesis in vitro. This is the first report suggesting that Ago2 is required for angiogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry and Global COE, University of Shizuoka School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan. asai@u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asai
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Saori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Sei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yonezawa
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yokota
authors.forename: Yasufumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Katanasaka
authors.forename: Tatsuhiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: Takehisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dewa
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiwada
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nango
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oku
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D015852:Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006801:Humans; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C466422:AGO2 protein, human; D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D015852:Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-2