Therapeutic effects of small interfering RNA targeting MDM2 on human osteosarcoma cells

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of the small interfering RNA targeting mdm2 gene on the growth of osteosarcoma cells. Methods PGCsilencerTM-mdm2 siRNA was constructed and transfected into the osteosarcoma cell line U20S cells. The inhibitory effects on mdm2 were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. The cell growth activity was determined by MTT assay, and the cell apoptosis was examined by flow cytometry. The therapeutic effects of simdm2 was assessed on the nude mouse model of transplanted tumor. Results The simdm2 plasmid was successfully constructed. After simdm2 being transfected into the U20S cells, the expressions of mdm2 gene and protein were significantly inhibited. The ability of cell growth activity decreased greatly and cell apoptosis occurred apparently. There was no significant difference between the negative control group and non-transfected group. The growth of xenograft tumor in simdm2 transfected nude mice was inhibited and the expressions of mdm2 gene and protein were down-regulated remarkably. Conclusion siRNA targeting mdm2 gene inhibits the mdm2 expression in osteosarcoma U20S cells and the growth of osteosarcoma in nude mice. Key words: siRNA;  Osteosarcoma;  mdm2 ;  Apoptosis