Disappearance of the angiogenic potential of endothelial cells caused by Argonaute2 knockdown.
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.
Asai
Tomohiro
T
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
Suzuki
Yuko
Y
Matsushita
Saori
S
Yonezawa
Sei
S
Yokota
Junichi
J
Katanasaka
Yasufumi
Y
Ishida
Tatsuhiro
T
Dewa
Takehisa
T
Kiwada
Hiroshi
H
Nango
Mamoru
M
Oku
Naoto
N
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*
C466422:AGO2 protein, human; D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D015852:Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-2