title: siRNA targeting survivin inhibits the growth and enhances the chemosensitivity             of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
abstract: Survivin has become an attractive anticancer therapeutic target due to its             important role in tumor cell viability and its selective expression in tumor cells.             In the present study, we constructed a recombinant siRNA plasmid vector against             survivin and stably transfected it into HepG2 and SMMC‑7721 hepatocellular carcinoma             cells in vitro. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR and western blotting were used to determine             the expression of survivin mRNA and protein, respectively. Tumor cell proliferation             was assessed by trypan blue exclusion. We evaluated the change in caspase-3 activity,             and the rate of cell apoptosis and the cell cycle distribution were analyzed by             flow cytometry. Assessment of chemosensitivity was carried out by MTT assay. The             results showed that transfection of survivin siRNA caused a significant inhibition             of survivin mRNA and protein expression which was associated with cell growth             inhibition, specific G0/G1 phase arrest, increased caspase-3 activity and enhanced             chemosensitivity to cisplatin in both HCC cell lines. We suggest that suppression             of survivin expression by RNAi attenuates the malignant phenotype of hepatocellular             carcinoma cells, and may provide a novel approach for anticancer gene therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003, PR China.
authors.forename: Wensong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Donglin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Haijiao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000494:pharmacology; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008113:Liver Neoplasms; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics*; D000077022:Survivin
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; C107489:BIRC5 protein, human; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D000077022:Survivin; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D002945:Cisplatin