Effect of siRNA-mediated silencing of Bmi-1 gene expression on HeLa cells

Abstract

B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus insertion site 1 (Bmi-1) is highly expressed in several malignant tumors and its expression level is positively correlated with tumor invasion, distant metastasis, prognosis, and recurrence. In the present study, the biological effect of small interfering RNA (siRNA) that targeted Bmi-1 expression was studied in human cervical carcinoma cell line HeLa cells. Bmi-1 siRNA inhibited the expression of Bmi-1 at the mRNA and protein levels in HeLa cells, which significantly affected proliferation, colony formation, and migration of HeLa cells in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, silencing Bmi-1 may be a potential therapeutic option for the management of some human cancers. © 2009 Japanese Cancer Association.