Knockdown of phospholipase C-epsilon by short-hairpin RNA-mediated gene silencing induces apoptosis in human bladder cancer cell lines

摘要

Transitional cell carcinoma of bladder (TCCB) is a common malignancy worldwide, and outcomes for patients with advanced bladder cancer remain poor. To study the pathogenesis of TCCB, we investigated roles of Phospholipase C (PLC)Eε, an effector of Ras and Rap small GTPases. RNA interference was used to knockdown PLCEε expression in human bladder cancer cell lines (BIU-87 and T24). The expression levels of PLCEε mRNA and protein were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect distribution of cell cycle. Cellular apoptosis was reflected by transmission electron microscopy and the expression of bcl-2 and bax. We found that PLCEε could be efficiently knocked down by shRNA. FCM assay showed that the pGenesil-PLCEε-transfected cells were arrested at the G0/G1 phase. Silence of PLCEε might induce apoptosis via modulation of bcl-2 and bax. In conclusion, our results suggest that PLCEε plays an important role in the pathogenesis of human bladder cancer cells. PLCEε may be used as a potential target of gene therapy for bladder cancer in future.