Inhibitory effects of siRNA on expression of epidermal growth factor receptor in squamous cell carcinoma cell line A431

AIM: To investigate the inhibitory effect of RNA interference(RNAi) on the epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) gene expression in A431 cell line.METHODS: Two pairs of small interfering RNA(siRNA) for EGFR gene were designed and transfected into A431 cells.EGFR gene expression was assessed by RT-PCR and EGFR protein expression was tested by Western blot.The proliferation of the A431 cells was detected by MTT method and flow cytometry was used to measure the cell apoptosis.RESULTS: The expression rates of EGFR mRNA and the expression rates of EGFR protein were(16.5±1.6)% and(11.1±1.6)%,respectively in A431 EGFR siRNA2-transfected cells,significantly lower than those of control cells(P0.05).Obvious decrease in growth of the A431 cells was observed after transfected with EGFR siRNA2 and the apoptosis rate was(12.6±1.4)%,significantly higher than that of control cells(P0.05).CONCLUSION: siRNA effectively inhibits the transcription and the expression of EGFR gene in the squamous cell carcinoma cell line A431.siRNA increases apoptosis index of the A431 cells and inhibits their growth.