Suppression of human Mnk1 by small interfering RNA increases the eukaryotic initiation factor 4F activity in HEK293T cells.

Short-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have proved to be a useful tool in studying gene function in plants, invertebrates and mammalian systems. Herein, we report the use of siRNAs for targeting the human MAP kinase-interacting kinase Mnk1 gene. This study demonstrates the efficacy of the designed siRNA in silencing Mnk1 in the human cell line HEK293T and shows that Mnk1 suppression decreases eukaryotic initiation factor 4E phosphorylation without causing any change in global protein synthesis rate and cell proliferation. Interestingly, suppression of Mnk1 results in a significant increase in eukaryotic initiation factor 4F complex formation after 72 h of transfection.