RNA干扰对肾癌细胞端粒酶活性及增殖、凋亡的影响

目的 探讨针对人端粒酶RNA（hTR）及其催化亚基（hTERT）的小干扰RNA（siRNA）对肾癌细胞端粒酶活性及其增殖、凋亡的影响。方法 将hTR-siRNA、hTERT-siRNA（100nmol／L）单独或联合转染人肾癌786—0细胞,采用RT-PCR法检测hTR、hTERT mRNA表达,TRAP-ELISA法检测端粒酶活性,MTT法检测细胞增殖,免疫组化TUNEL法检测细胞凋亡。结果 （1）hTR-siRNA可显著降低786—0细胞hTR mRNA表达（P〈0．01）,hTERT-siRNA可显著降低hTERT mRNA表达（P〈0．01）,但彼此互不影响。（2）二者均能显著抑制端粒酶活性（P〈0．01,P〈0．01）,并增加786—0细胞增殖抑制率及凋亡细胞阳性率（P〈0．01,P〈0．01）。二者联合应用与单独应用差异亦无显著性（P〉0．05）。结论 hTR、hTERT siRNA通过抑制各自基因表达,抑制人肾癌细胞端粒酶活性,进而抑制增殖、促进凋亡。     

Attenuation of telomerase activity by hammerhead ribozyme targeting human telomerase RNA induces growth retardation and apoptosis in human breast tumor cells

Ribozyme possesses specific endoribonuclease activity and catalyzes the hydrolysis of specific phosphodiester bonds, which results in the cleavage of target RNA sequences. Here, we evaluated the ability of hammerhead ribozymes targeting human telomerase RNA (hTR) to inhibit the catalytic activity of telomerase and the proliferation of cancer cells. Hammerhead ribozymes were designed against 7 NUX sequences located in open loops of the hTR secondary structure. We verified the ribozyme specificity by in vitro cleavage assay by using a synthetic RNA substrate. Subsequently, we introduced ribozyme expression vector into human breast tumor MCF-7 cells and assessed the biologic effects of ribozyme. Hammerhead ribozyme R1 targeting the template region of hTR efficiently cleaved hTR in vitro, and stable transfectants of this ribozyme induced the degradation of target hTR RNA and attenuated telomerase activity in MCF-7 cells. Moreover, the ribozyme R1 transfectant displayed a significant telomere shortening and a lower proliferation rate than parental cells. Clones with reduced proliferation capacity showed enlarged senescence-like shapes or highly differentiated dendritic morphologies of apoptosis. In conclusion, the inhibition of telomerase activity by hammerhead ribozyme targeting the template region of the hTR presents a promising strategy for inhibiting the growth of human breast cancer cells.     

Inhibition of telomerase RNA (hTR) in cervical cancer by adenovirus-delivered siRNA

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has become a powerful tool for selectively silencing gene expression in cultured mammalian cells. In this study, a 67-bp oligonucleotide encoding human telomerase RNA (hTR) was introduced into pSIREN, a shuttle vector for construction of recombinant adenovirus. Then the U6-RNA promoter and siRNA-encoding insert were cut out from the pSIREN and subcloned into pAdeno-X to construct the plasmid pAd-hTR. After the pAd-hTR was transfected into a mammalian cell line HEK-293, adenovirus carrying the hTR-targeting siRNA (Ad-hTR-siRNA) was obtained. We performed a series of experiments to demonstrate silencing of the telomerase mediated by Ad-hTR-siRNA in HeLa cells. Compared with control virus (Ad-NT-siRNA), Ad-hTR-siRNA significantly reduced both hTR mRNA level (by 70.21%) and telomerase activity (by 58.87%) in HeLa cells. Moreover, it induced apoptosis in HeLa cells. Treatment of subcutaneous tumor xenografted with Ad-hTR-siRNA could slow down tumor growth, at least partially due to the induction of apoptosis (P<0.05) in vivo. Taken together, our results demonstrated efficient and specific knockdown of telomerase in HeLa cell line by the hTR siRNA, and indicated the prospect of applying this siRNA expressing recombinant adenovirus system in cancer gene therapy.     

2-5A antisense therapy directed against human telomerase RNA inhibits telomerase activity and induces apoptosis without telomere impairment in cervical cancer cells

Human telomerase RNA (hTR), an important component of telomerase, is a possible target of telomerase-based cancer gene therapy. The present study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of antisense hTR therapy using newly developed 2-5A (5'-phosphorylated 2'-5'-linked oligoadenylate)-linked oligonucleotides against cervical cancer cells. ME180 and SiHa cells were treated with 2-5A-linked antisense hTR designed to complement the region of hTR between residues 76 and 94. The hTR expression, telomerase activity, cell viability, and apoptosis were then examined. The 2-5A anti-hTR effectively degraded hTR and inhibited telomerase activity. The 2-5A mutant anti-hTR and the anti-hTR without 2-5A were not capable of inhibiting telomerase activity. Inhibition of telomerase by 2-5A anti-hTR rapidly decreased cell viability only in telomerase-positive cells within 3-6 days after the treatment, when telomere length has not yet been shortened. This inhibition was associated with apoptosis, possibly through activation of caspase family members. These findings suggest that 2-5A-linked antisense-hTR therapy has a potent telomerase-inhibitory effect associated with a cytocidal effect from caspase-induced apoptosis, and may therefore be a potential tool in telomerase-based gene therapy against cervical cancers.     

Delivering antisense telomerase RNA by a hybrid adenovirus/ adeno-associated virus significantly suppresses the malignant phenotype and enhances cell apoptosis of human breast cancer cells

Activated telomerase is frequently detected in cancer cells and is able to maintain and stabilize the integrity of telomeres; it also contributes to unlimited divisions in cancer cells. Recently, a new generation of selective anticancer strategies is under development targeting the blockage of telomerase activity either at the protein level or telomerase RNA. Here, we report suppression of the malignant phenotype by the expression of the full-length antisense human telomerase RNA (hTR) delivered by a novel hybrid vector recombining adenovirus and adeno-associated virus (vAd-AAV). The hybrid vector vAd-AAV retained the unique traits from two parental viruses, such as high efficiency of gene transfer in mammalian cells and the ability to integrate into the genomic DNA of host cells. The stable expression of antisense hTR in MCF-7 cells significantly suppressed telomerase activity and progressively shortened telomere length for 30 population doublings (PD30). Expression of antisense hTR leads to a telomere-based growth arrest and the induction of spontaneous apoptosis. Antisense hTR decreased soft agar colony formation and reduced the cell proliferation, leading to exit from the cell cycle at G1 at PD15. The expression of antisense hTR also sensitized MCF-7 cells to apoptosis induced by sodium butyrate or serum starvation. Our study demonstrates that delivering antisense hTR by the hybrid Ad/AAV vector is an effective antineoplastic gene therapeutic strategy, which significantly suppresses the malignant phenotype and enhances apoptosis of human breast cancer cells.     

Rapid blockade of telomerase activity and tumor cell growth by the DPL lipofection of ribbon antisense to hTR

Ribbon antisense (RiAS) to the hTR RNA, a component of the telomerase complex, was employed to inhibit telomerase activity and cancer cell growth. The antisense molecule, hTR-RiAS, combined with enhanced cellular uptake was shown to effectively inhibit telomerase activity and cause rapid cell death in various cancer cell lines. When cancer cells were treated with hTR-RiAS, the level of hTR RNA was reduced by more than 90% accompanied with reduction in telomerase activity. When checked for cancer cell viability, cancer cell lines treated with hTR-RiAS using DNA+Peptide+Lipid complex showed 70-80% growth inhibition in 3 days. The reduced cell viability was due to apoptosis as the percentage of cells exhibiting the sub-G0 arrest and DNA fragmentation increased after antisense treatment. Further, when subcutaneous tumors of a colon cancer cell line (SW480) were treated intratumorally with hTR-RiAS, tumor growth was markedly suppressed with almost total ablation of hTR RNA in the tumor tissue. Cells in the tumor tissue were also found to undergo apoptosis after hTR-RiAS treatment. These results suggest that hTR-RiAS is an effective anticancer reagent, with a potential for broad efficacy to diverse malignant tumors.     

siRNA targeting LMP1-induced apoptosis in EBV-positive lymphoma cells is associated with inhibition of telomerase activity and expression

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is closely associated with B cell malignancies. However, whether EBV appears to be absolutely required for cell proliferation and survival in lymphoma cells is still unknown. In this study, small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting LMP1 was employed to investigate the effect of LMP1 on cell proliferation in EBV-positive lymphoblastoid B-cell line. A plasmid stable encoding 21-nt small RNA specifically and efficiently interfering LMP1 was constructed, resulting in a substantial loss of LMP1 mRNA and a significantly decreased LMP1 protein expression. Our data demonstrated that cell proliferation was completely inhibited and apoptosis was induced after knockdown of LMP1 gene in lymphoblastoid B-cell line. Also, we found that suppression of LMP1 caused downregulation of telomerase protein expression and decreased telomerase activity in lymphoma cells. In EBV-negative NPC cell line, transfection of plasmid expressing LMP1 greatly enhanced telomerase protein expression. Our results suggested that siRNA targeting LMP1 can induce apoptosis in EBV-positive lymphoma cells and is associated with inhibition of telomerase activity and expression. siRNA-directed LMP1 silencing may be of the therapeutic value for preventing and treating those EBV-associated tumors.     

核酶对食管癌EC9706细胞端粒酶活性及凋亡的影响

目的 :观察针对人端粒酶RNA模板区的核酶对食管癌细胞端粒酶活性和细胞凋亡的影响。方法 :利用脂质体Lipofectamine介导 ,将已构建好的带有端粒酶核酶基因的重组质粒pBBS2 12Rz及空载质粒pBBS2 12转染食管癌EC970 6细胞 ,采用TRAP ELISA法检测端粒酶活性 ,用倒置相差显微镜及流式细胞仪观察细胞生长和凋亡情况。结果 :重组质粒pBBS2 12Rz转染的食管癌EC970 6细胞的端粒酶活性明显下降 ,细胞生长速度明显变慢 ,凋亡加速。结论 :端粒酶核酶对食管癌细胞端粒酶活性和细胞生长有抑制作用 ,可望成为食管癌基因治疗的新方法     

利用siRNA阻抑survivin基因表达诱导乳腺癌细胞系MCF-7细胞凋亡的研究

背景与目的:survivin属IAP基因家族成员,表达于多种肿瘤组织中,能促使细胞逃避凋亡,并促进细胞的异常有丝分裂。本研究旨在探讨敲除survivin基因后,癌细胞的增殖和凋亡情况。方法:利用RNAi阻抑人乳腺癌细胞内survivin基因的表达,RT-PCR和Westernblot法分析survivin基因mRNA和蛋白的表达,MTT法检测细胞生长增殖抑制率,流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡率。结果:survivinsiRNA转染组,survivin基因表达水平与未转染组比较下调了64%。随着siRNA浓度的增加,细胞增殖抑制率逐渐增高,200nmol/L剂量组细胞增殖抑制率最高,可达60.9%。不同浓度的siRNA可不同程度地诱导细胞凋亡,200nmol/L剂量组凋亡率最高,可达29.0%。结论:survivinsiRNA有可能成为治疗乳腺癌的新药物。     

端粒酶反义RNA对人肾癌细胞系GRC—1生长的影响

目的 探讨抗端粒酶在肾细胞癌治疗中的意义。方法 采用脂质体介质导法将端粒酶反义RNA真核表达载体（pBBS212-hTR)导入人肾癌GRC－1细胞系中,采用TRAR法测定端粒酶活性,采用MTT法检测细胞生长动力,电镜下观察细胞增殖情况及端粒酶反义RNA对细胞凋亡的影响。结果 端粒酶反应RNA能显著抑制细胞的端粒酶活性,抑制细胞增殖并促进其凋亡。结论 应用端粒酶反义RNA抑制肾癌端粒酶活性是治疗肾癌的潜在途径。