Effects of chitosan nanoparticle-mediated BRAF siRNA interference on invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells

Abstract

To observe the changes in invasion capacity of gastric cancer BGC823 cells after being treated with chitosan-encapsulated BRAF siRNA nanoparticles, and to evaluate the effects of the nanoparticle-mediated BRAF siRNA interference on cell invasion and metastasis, BRAF siRNA was encapsulated with chitosan into nanoparticles sized 350 nm to treat gastric cancer cells. Silencing of BRAF was detected by Western blot and PCR, and cell invasion was observed by the Transwell assay. The nanoparticles significantly downregulated BRAF expression in BGC823 cells (P < 0.01) and inhibited their invasion (P < 0.001). Chitosan nanoparticle-mediated BRAF siRNA interference evidently reduced the invasion capacity of gastric cancers.