Objective To explore effect of DLL4 gene in MCF-7 cells of human breast cancer which was inhibitted by short hair in RNA （shRNA） on inducing apoptosis and chemosensitivity to docetaxel. Methods Specific shRNA was designed in accordance with DLL4 gene and transfected into MCF-7 cells of human breast cancer with liposomal （Lip-shRNA group）， MCF-7 cells transfected with only liposomal as Lip group， and control group without any treatment. Expressions of DLL4 protein in 3 groups were detected by immunohistochemical method， apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were examined by flow cytometry （FCM）. Proliferations and sensitivity of MCF-7 cells to docetaxel in 3 groups were determined by methylthiazoyl-tetrazolium bromide （MTT）. Results The averages optical density value and rate of positive area of Lip-shRNA group were significantly lower than that of other 2 groups （P＜0.01）. The levels of A value at 24h， 48h， and 72h in Lip-shRNA group were significantly lower than that of other 2 groups （P＜0.01）. Rates of cell apoptosis at 24h， 48h， 72h and 96 h in Lip-shRNA group were significantly higher than that of other 2 goups （P＜0.05），and ratio of G2/M was higher too （P＜0.05）. IC50 of Lip-shRNA group to docetaxel was significantly lower than that of other 2 groups （P＜0.05）. Conclusions The RNA interference technology can effectively block the expression of DLL4 gene. Inhibition of DLL4/Notch signaling pathway can lead to proliferation inhibition of cancer cell and a concomitant increase in cells undergoing apoptosis， and can enhance the cell sensitivity to docetaxel. DLL4 may be an important target for therapeutic approach of breast cancer.
【 Abstract 】 Objective To observe the effect of disruption of hypoxia inducible factor-1 α (HIF-1 α ) pathway by small hairpin RNA (shRNA) on chemosensitivity of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and to reveal the correlative mechanisms. Methods Plasmid of pshRNA-HIF-1α was transfected into HepG2 cells by lipofectamine. HepG2/pshRNA-HIF-1α (HepG2/pshRNA) cell lines were obtained by selection of HepG2 cells in G418. Meanwhile, plasmid of empty vector (pHK) was transfected as a control (HepG2/pHK). The mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1α and mdr1 were investigated by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. Using CoCl2 to simulate the hypoxia condition, growth inhibition and apoptosis rates of HepG2 cells under different dosages of chemotherapeutic agents (adriamycin) were measured by MTT assay and flow cytometry (FCM) ． ResultsCompared with HepG2/pHK cells, the mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1αand mdr1 were obviously down-regulated in HepG2/pshRNA cells. At the same time, the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis rates were evidently increased after transfection with pshRNA-HIF-1α(P＜0.05)，which decreased the expression of HIF-1αto 82.18% at mRNA level and 75.51% at protein level. There was no significant effect of transfection pHK (Pgt;0.05). Conclusion These data demonstrates that HIF-1α interference by shRNA increased the sensitivity of HCC chemotherapy and the reversal of multidrug resistance, which may be done by down-regulating the transcription of mdr1 and the translation of P-gp. Blocking HIF-1αin HCC cells may offer an new avenue for gene therapy．
ObjectiveTo summarize current patient-derived organoids as preclinical cancer models, and its potential clinical application prospects. MethodsCurrent patient-derived organoids as preclinical cancer models were reviewed according to the results searched from PubMed database. In addition, how cancer-derived human tumor organoids of pancreatic cancer could facilitate the precision cancer medicine were discussed. ResultsThe cancer-derived human tumor organoids show great promise as a tool for precision medicine of pancreatic cancer, with potential applications for oncogene modeling, gene discovery and chemosensitivity studies. ConclusionThe cancer-derived human tumor organoids can be used as a tool for precision medicine of pancreatic cancer.
Extracellular matrix (ECM) has been implicated in tumor progress and chemosensitivity. Ovarian cancer brings a great threat to the health of women with a significant feature of high mortality and poor prognosis. However, the potential significance of matrix stiffness in the pattern of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) expression and ovarian cancer drug sensitivity is still largely unkown. Here, based on RNA-seq data of ovarian cancer cell cultured on substrates with different stiffness, we found that a great amount of lncRNAs were upregulated in stiff group, whereas SNHG8 was significantly downregulated, which was further verified in ovarian cancer cells cultured on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) hydrogel. Knockdown of SNHG8 led to an impaired efficiency of homologous repair, and decreased cellular sensitivity to both etoposide and cisplatin. Meanwhile, the results of the GEPIA analysis indicated that the expression of SNHG8 was significantly decreased in ovarian cancer tissues, which was negatively correlated with the overall survival of patients with ovarian cancer. In conclusion, matrix stiffening related lncRNA SNHG8 is closely related to chemosensitivity and prognosis of ovarian cancer, which might be a novel molecular marker for chemotherapy drug instruction and prognosis prediction.