Purpose: Metastasis-associated in colon cancer 1 (MACC1) has been shown to play a critical role in several types of cancer. The purposes of this study were to evaluate MACC1 expression in cervical cancer and determine role of MACC1 small interference RNA (siRNA) in the growth and progression of cervical cancer.
Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis of MACC1 expression was performed in different cervical lesion tissues. siRNA knockdown of MACC1 was performed. Cytoskeletal staining, RT-PCR, Western blot technology, transwell migration, MTT, and flow cytometry were used for identification of the functional roles of MACC1 siRNA in HeLa cells.
Results: Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that MACC1 overexpression was detected in cervical cancer tissues. MACC1 siRNA transfection remarkably affected HeLa cell biological behaviors. Expression of MACC1 in HeLa cells was significantly down-regulated by MACC1 siRNA. In addition, knockdown of MACC1 in HeLa cells caused a significant decrease in cell proliferation or migration, and increased cell apoptosis rate. Flow cytometry showed that MACC1 siRNA may inhibit cell proliferation by interfering with cell mitosis and cell cycle progression.
Conclusions: These results suggest that MACC1 is a novel biomarker for cervical cancer diagnosis and a target for therapeutic interventions. Decreasing MACC1 expression by siRNA may prove to be an effective genetic therapy strategy.