THE INHIBITION OF ANTISENSE hTR ON A549 LUNG CANCER CELLS

ObjectiveTo investigate the inhibition of telomerase activity and cell growth in lung cancer cells A549 by antisense hTR (human telomeric RNA) treatment, and explore the possibility of the telomerase as a target for lung cancer gene therapy.MethodsThe antisense hTR fragment was inserted into the pLXRN plasmid, obtain the replication-deficient retroviruses by transfection the packing cells of PT67, then infect the A549 cells by the antisense virus. Test telomerase activity of the treated and untreated cells by using telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP), observe the cells morphological change by microscope, and assay the apoptosis by DNA electrophoresis.ResultsThe cells growth and telomerase activity of A549 were significantly inhibited and apoptosis occurred after antisense virus infection when compared with the control cell lines. ConclusionThe introduction of antisense telomeric RNA can significantly inhibit the activity of telomerase, arrest the cells growth and accelerate apoptosis in A549.