Effect of survivin on tumor growth of colorectal cancer in vivo.

Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis gene family regulates two critical processes in neoplastic transformation, namely, cell proliferation and apoptosis. This study aimed to detect the effect of survivin on tumor growth of colorectal cancer (CRC) in vivo. We found that inhibition of survivin by interference decreased the sizes and weights of xenografts in nude mice. The number of apoptotic cells of the shRNA survivin group was higher than that of the black group and the shRNA control group. The downregulated expression of survivin decreased the expression levels of bcl2 and ki67. Our results indicated that inhibition of survivin significantly enhanced the inhibition of tumor growth and induced apoptosis. Survivin is an attractive target for CRC treatment.