Small hairpin RNA

About: Small hairpin RNA is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 9279 publications have been published within this topic receiving 285471 citations.

Regulation of replicative senescence by insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Abstract: Summary Insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathways are among the most conserved processes in aging in organisms ranging from yeast to mammals. Previously, using cDNA microarray technology, we reported that expression of IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3), one of the IGF-binding proteins, was increased with age in human dermal fibroblasts. In this study, the role of IGFBP3 on cellular senescence was studied in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The expression levels of IGFBP3 mRNA and protein were increased in HUVECs with age. Knockdown of IGFBP3 in old cells with IGFBP3 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) retrovirus resulted in the partial reduction of a variety of senescent phenotypes, such as changes in cell morphology, and decreases in population doubling times and senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining. Down-regulation of IGFBP3 rescued the growth arrest induced by p53 overexpression in young HUVECs. In contrast, up-regulation of IGFBP3 in young cells and prolonged IGFBP3 treatment accelerated cellular senescence, confirmed by cell proliferation and SA-β-gal staining. The FOXO3a (forkhead box O3a) protein level was increased in old IGFBP3 shRNA cells. The treatment of young HUVECs with IGFBP3 repressed the levels of FOXO3a protein. Furthermore, calorie restriction reduced IGFBP3 protein levels, which were found to be increased with age in the rat liver and serum. These results suggest that IGFBP3 might play an important role in the cellular senescence of HUVECs as well as in vivo aging.

S100a9 knockdown decreases the memory impairment and the neuropathology in Tg2576 mice, AD animal model.

Abstract: Inflammation, insoluble protein deposition and neuronal cell loss are important features in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. To investigate the regulatory genes responsible for the neuropathology in AD, we performed microarray analysis with APPV717I-CT100 transgenic mice, an animal model of AD, and isolated the S100a9 gene, which encodes an inflammation-associated calcium binding protein. In another AD animal model, Tg2576 mouse brain, and in human AD brain, induction of S100a9 was confirmed. The endogenous expression of S100a9 was induced by treatment with Aβ or CT peptides in a microglia cell line, BV2 cells. In these cells, silencing study of S100a9 showed that the induction of S100a9 increased the intracellular calcium level and up-regulated the inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and TNFα) and iNOS. S100a9 lentiviral short hairpin RNA (sh-S100a9) was injected into the hippocampus region of the brains of 13-month-old Tg2576 mice. At two months after injection, we found that knockdown of S100a9 expression had improved the cognition decline of Tg2576 mice in the water maze task, and had reduced amyloid plaque burden. These results suggest that S100a9 induced by Aβ or CT contributes to cause inflammation, which then affects the neuropathology including amyloid plaques burden and impairs cognitive function. Thus, the inhibition of S100a9 is a possible target for AD therapy.

p21(Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1) mediates retinoblastoma protein degradation.

Abstract: Damage-induced G1 checkpoint in mammalian cells involves upregulation of p53, which activates transcription of p21(Waf1) (CDKN1A). Inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)2 and CDK4/6 by p21 leads to dephosphorylation and activation of Rb. We now show that ectopic p21 expression in human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells causes not only dephosphorylation but also depletion of Rb; this effect was p53-independent and susceptible to a proteasome inhibitor. CDK inhibitor p27 (CDKN1B) also caused Rb dephosphorylation and depletion, but another CDK inhibitor p16 (CDKN2A) induced only dephosphorylation but not depletion of Rb. Rb depletion was observed in both HT1080 and HCT116 colon carcinoma cells, where p21 was induced by DNA-damaging agents. Rb depletion after DNA damage did not occur in the absence of p21, and it was reduced when p21 induction was inhibited by p21-targeting short hairpin RNA or by a transdominant inhibitor of p53. These results indicate that p21 both activates Rb through dephosphorylation and inactivates it through degradation, suggesting negative feedback regulation of damage-induced cell-cycle checkpoint arrest.

Short communication Targeting mTORC2 inhibits colon cancer cell proliferation in vitro and tumor formation in vivo

Abstract: The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which exists in two functionally distinct complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2 plays an important role in tumor growth. Whereas the role of mTORC1 has been well characterized in this process, little is known about the functions of mTORC2 in cancer progression. In this study, we explored the specific role of mTORC2 in colon cancer using a short hairpin RNA expression system to silence the mTORC2-associated protein rictor. We found that downregulation of rictor in HT29 and LS174T colon cancer cells significantly reduced cell proliferation. Knockdown of rictor also resulted in a G1 arrest as observed by cell cycle analysis. We further observed that LS174T cells deficient for rictor failed to form tumors in a nude mice xenograft model. Taken together, these results show that the inhibition of mTORC2 reduces colon cancer cell proliferation in vitro and tumor xenograft formation in vivo. They also suggest that specifically targeting mTORC2 may provide a novel treatment strategy for colorectal cancer.

c-Jun N-terminal kinase is activated in non-small-cell lung cancer and promotes neoplastic transformation in human bronchial epithelial cells.

Abstract: c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) has been reported to either potentiate or inhibit oncogenesis, depending upon the cellular context, but its role in lung neoplasia is unclear Here we sought to define the role of JNK in lung neoplasia by examining evidence of JNK phosphorylation in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) biopsy samples and by using genetic and pharmacologic approaches to modulate JNK expression and activity in cultured cells Immunohistochemical staining for JNK phosphorylation was detected in 114 (45%) of 252 NSCLC biopsy samples and was predominantly nuclear, providing evidence of JNK activation in a subset of NSCLC cases Introduction of a doxycycline-inducible, constitutively active, mutant mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 (MKK4) into the human bronchial epithelial cell lines BEAS-2B and HB56B increased the cells' proliferation, migration, invasion and clonogenicity Depletion of JNK in MKK4 mutant-transformed BEAS-2B cells by introduction of JNK1/2 short hairpin RNA reversed the transformed phenotype, indicating that JNK activation is oncogenic and MKK4 confers neoplastic properties in these cells The proliferation of NSCLC cell lines HCC827 and H2009, in which JNK and its substrate c-Jun are constitutively phosphorylated, was inhibited by SP600125, a JNK kinase inhibitor We conclude that JNK is activated in a subset of NSCLC biopsy samples and promotes oncogenesis in the bronchial epithelium, suggesting that strategies to inhibit the JNK pathway should be considered for the prevention and treatment of NSCLC