siRNA inhibits survivin gene and its effect on the apoptosis of HepG2 cells

Objective To study the effect of small interfering RNA(siRNA)of human survivin gene on apoptosis of human hepatoma cell line HepG2. Methods The PCR products containing siRNA sequence were transfected into HepG2 via Lipofectamine TM 2000, cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Apoptosis was detected by morphological observation and flow cytometry analysis. The expression level of HepG2 mRNA was assayed by RT-PCR. Result The cell growth and viability of siRNA transfected group were significantly inhibited when compared with that of the negative and blank control groups(P 0.01), whereas the latter two groups had simi1ar expression levels. Conclusion Interference with siRNA against survivin gene can effectively inhibit the specific gene expression, which may play a significant role in inducing of apoptosis of the corresponding HepG2 cells.