Liu WS et al. – This study suggests that RNAi against survivin gene strategy would be a potential approach to chemosensitization therapy in human pancreatic cancer. Methods
Aim was to study if the regulation of surviving could be a new strategy for treating pancreatic cancer
A short siRNA plasmid expression vector against survivin was transfected into human pancreatic cancer cell lines of Panc-1 and BxPC3
Survivin mRNA and protein was detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively
Tumor cell growth in vitro was assessed by trypan blue exclusion
The cell cycle distribution and cell apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry
The cytotoxicity assay was measured by the MTT test
Results
Survivin siRNA treatment caused a specific and profound decrease of survivin mRNA and protein associated with decreased cell growth, spontaneous apoptosis, and a specific G0/G1 arrest
Suppression of survivin can enhance the chemosensitivity of pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine