title: Anti-proliferation effect of BMI-1 in U937 cells with siRNA.
abstract: Polycomb protein BMI-1 is often overexpressed in various types of leukemia, and its depletion in those leukemic cells leads to cell proliferation arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis. These findings have led us to believe that Bmi-1 has potential as a therapeutic target for leukemia. In this study, we tested multiple sets of synthetic siRNA oligo pairs for downregulating the expression of Bmi-1 in U937 cells, and explored the possible biological effects of BMI-1 suppression on cell growth and proliferation. We found that one siRNA oligo pair can efficiently knock down BMI-1 in U937 cells as evaluated by real-time RT-PCR as well as Western blot analysis. Furthermore, we found that BMI-1 depletion leads to reduced cell growth and proliferation, and increased cell apoptosis. Our proof-of-principle findings confirm that Bmi-1 siRNA can be used as a therapeutic target of any Bmi-1 expressing leukemia and other cancer cells.
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Science and Laboratory Medicine, Jiangsu University, Jiangsu 212013, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xuejing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Wenrong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D002453:Cell Cycle; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014162:Transfection; D020298:U937 Cells
chemical_list: C069077:BMI1 protein, human; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1