Effects of inhibiting human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene by small interfering RNA interference on proliferation of gastric cancer SGC7901 cells

Objective To investigate the effect of inhibiting human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene by small interfering RNA (siRNA) interference on the proliferation of gastric cancer SGC7901 cells.Methods The recombinant plasmids containing hTERT target sequences were transfected into SGC7901 cells by LipofectamineTM 2000.The expression of hTERT was detected by FQ-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) quantitatively.The activity of telomerase was tested by TRAP-PCR.The proliferation activity of SGC7901 cells was determined using methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTr) assay.Results After transfection of recombinant plasmids containing hTERT target sequences,the mean hTERT mRNA expression was 6.5 × 105 copy/μg RNA in pU6 group,4.1×104 copy/μg RNA in pU6-hTERT-siRNA Ⅰ group and 5.4 × 104 copy/μg RNA in pU6-hTERT-siRNA Ⅱ group,respectively.The expression of hTERT gene was specifically inhibited by pU6-hTERT-siRNAs in SGC7901 cells (P ＜0.01 ),but there was no difference between the pU6-hTERT-siRNA Ⅰ and Ⅱ groups (P ＞ 0.05).The proliferation of gastric cancer SGC7901 cells was significantly reduced.Conclusion hTERT expression in SGC7901 cells can be inhibited significantly with siRNA and the down-regulation of hTERT expression can cause the reduction of proliferation of SGC7901 cells. Key words: siRNA; RNAi; hTERT gene; Telomerase