Open Access

Downregulation of survivin expression exerts antitumoral effects on mouse breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo

  • Authors:
    • Wen-Hui Ma
    • Yong-Chao Liu
    • Mei-Lan Xue
    • Zheng Zheng
    • Yin-Lin Ge
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: November 5, 2015     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2015.3870
  • Pages: 159-167
  • Copyright: © Ma et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Metastasis constantly occurs in the majority of cases of primary breast cancer at late stage or following surgical treatment. Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, has long been recognized as a promising anticancer target, but its antitumor effects remain largely unexplored. In order to elucidate the role of survivin in breast cancer metastasis, short interfering RNA (siRNA) was used in the present study to specifically downregulate survivin expression in the murine breast cancer cell line 4T1. The results demonstrated that blocking the expression of survivin by siRNA inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of murine breast cancer cells in vitro. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‑C is a lymphatic endothelial cell‑stimulating factor that may lead to the formation of lymphatic vessels in lymph nodes. In the present study, the inhibition of survivin by siRNA was able to reduce the overexpression of VEGF‑C in 4T1 cells. Furthermore, intratumoral injections of the survivin‑siRNA significantly inhibited the growth of orthotopically transplanted 4T1 tumors in vivo. In addition, the number of pulmonary metastases and the microlymphatic vessel density were significantly reduced in vivo, following transfection with survivin‑siRNA. The results of the present study suggested that the Akt/hypoxia‑inducible factor‑1α signaling pathway participates in the survivin‑mediated downregulation of VEGF‑C expression observed in breast cancer cells treated with survivin‑siRNA. Therefore, the use of siRNA specifically targeting survivin may be a potential anticancer method in the future.
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January-2016
Volume 11 Issue 1

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

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Spandidos Publications style
Ma W, Liu Y, Xue M, Zheng Z and Ge Y: Downregulation of survivin expression exerts antitumoral effects on mouse breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Oncol Lett 11: 159-167, 2016
APA
Ma, W., Liu, Y., Xue, M., Zheng, Z., & Ge, Y. (2016). Downregulation of survivin expression exerts antitumoral effects on mouse breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Oncology Letters, 11, 159-167. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2015.3870
MLA
Ma, W., Liu, Y., Xue, M., Zheng, Z., Ge, Y."Downregulation of survivin expression exerts antitumoral effects on mouse breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo". Oncology Letters 11.1 (2016): 159-167.
Chicago
Ma, W., Liu, Y., Xue, M., Zheng, Z., Ge, Y."Downregulation of survivin expression exerts antitumoral effects on mouse breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo". Oncology Letters 11, no. 1 (2016): 159-167. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2015.3870