Impact of siRNA targeting pirh2 on proliferation and cell cycle control of the lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of pirh2 (p53-induced RING-H2) protein in the proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle control of the lung cancer cell line A549. Pirh2 expression was detected by immunofluorescence, Western blot analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Cell proliferation was assessed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Cell cycle control and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. The results showed that pirh2 was expressed in the cytoplasm of A549 cells. The inhibition of pirh2 expression by siRNA (psiRNA-pirh2) resulted in reduced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. In addition, the number of G0/G1 phase cells was increased but G2/M cells were not affected significantly. Taken together, the inhibition of pirh2 expression in the lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 resulted in reduced tumor cell growth via the inhibition of cell proliferation, the activation of apoptosis and the interruption of cell cycle transition.