title: Knockdown of asparagine synthetase by RNAi suppresses cell growth in human melanoma cells and epidermoid carcinoma cells.
abstract: Melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, causes more than 40,000 deaths each year worldwide. And epidermoid carcinoma is another major form of skin cancer, which could be studied together with melanoma in several aspects. Asparagine synthetase (ASNS) gene encodes an enzyme that catalyzes the glutamine- and ATP-dependent conversion of aspartic acid to asparagine, and its expression is associated with the chemotherapy resistance and prognosis in several human cancers. The present study aims to explore the potential role of ASNS in melanoma cells A375 and human epidermoid carcinoma cell line A431. We applied a lentivirus-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) system to study its function in cell growth of both cells. The results revealed that inhibition of ASNS expression by RNAi significantly suppressed the growth of melanoma cells and epidermoid carcinoma cells, and induced a G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in melanoma cells. Knockdown of ASNS in A375 cells remarkably downregulated the expression levels of CDK4, CDK6, and Cyclin D1, and upregulated the expression of p21. Therefore, our study provides evidence that ASNS may represent a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of melanoma.
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Hui
authors: H
authors: Li
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Fusheng
authors: F
authors: Zhou
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Wenhui
authors: W
authors: Du
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Jinfa
authors: J
authors: Dou
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yu
authors: Y
authors: Xu
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Wanwan
authors: W
authors: Gao
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Gang
authors: G
authors: Chen
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Xianbo
authors: X
authors: Zuo
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Liangdan
authors: L
authors: Sun
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Xuejun
authors: X
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors: Sen
authors: S
authors: Yang
mesh_terms: D001217:Aspartate-Ammonia Ligase / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000235:genetics; D059585:G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000235:genetics; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D016192:Resting Phase, Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001217:Aspartate-Ammonia Ligase
keywords: asparagine synthetase; cell cycle arrest; lentivirus; melanoma; proliferation