Down-regulation of VEGF-C using short hairpin RNA inhibits proliferation and invasion of human breast cancer cells

Objective To investigate the anti-tumor effect of short hairpin RNA(shRNA)-mediated inhibition of VEGF-C(vascular endothelial growth factor C) on human breast cancer in vitro.Methods Breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was stably transfected with a VEGF-C short hairpin RNA(shRNA) plasmid vector labeled with green fluorescent protein.The transfected cells were visualized by fluorescent microscope and assayed by flow cytometry.The expression of VEGF-C in transfected cells was determined by RT-PCR and Western blot.The cell growth inhibition rate and the invasive capacity were evaluated by MTT method and reconstituted basement membrane invasion assay.Results VEGF-C shRNA specificly and effectively downregulated VEGF-C mRNA and protein expression in vitro.And it also effectively inhibited proliferation and invasive capacity of MCF-7 cells when compared to vehicle,vector and control shRNA.Conclusions These data in our study demonstrated that VEGF-C plays an important role in tumor growth,invasive capacity of breast cancer.RNA interference targeting VEGF-C may serve as a potential therapeutic intervention for human breast cancer.