Inhibition effect of siRNA-downregulated UHRF1 on breast cancer growth

Abstract

The UHRF1 gene plays important roles in both cell proliferation through its NIRF_N domains, a PHD domain, an SRA domain, and a RING domain, and multidrug resistance in breast cancer treatment. In this work, a short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) lentiviral system was introduced in two human breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) to downregulate the expression of UHRF1 and study the specific inhibition of UHRF1 in breast cancer growth. The effect of UHRF1-shRNA on breast cancer cell proliferation was examined using methylthiazoletetrazolium, bromodeoxyuridine, and colony formation assays. The proliferative potential of the UHRF1-shRNA-treated cells showed a remarkable decrease. Moreover, the downregulation of UHRF1 in both breast cancer cell lines significantly inhibited the colony formation capacity. Results suggested that the inhibition of UHRF1 via an RNA interference lentiviral system may provide an effective way for breast cancer therapy.