Evaluation RNAi silencing in the DH82 canine histiocytic sarcoma cell line

Background Cancer is a leading cause of death among dogs worldwide [1]. The disease results from alterations in expression of genes that control the cell cycle, including proliferation, differentiation and programmed cell death [2]. The interest in understanding the molecular aspects of cancer in humans and dogs is driven by the possibilities of identification of novel targets for the development of new anticancer compounds [3]. A molecular tool that has been used for this purpose is the RNA interference (RNAi) technique which exploits the mechanism of posttranscriptional silencing, mediated by molecules of double-stranded RNA that trigger degradation of complementary mRNAs [4]. However, for the application of this technique, important aspects must be investigated, since not all cell strains are susceptible to silencing by RNAi, and often the intracellular release of the interfering RNAs has low efficiency [5]. In this work we evaluated the efficiency of RNAi in silencing of topoisomerase IIA, a target for many anticancer compounds, in the canine histiocytic sarcoma DH82 cell line.