Treatment with vector-expressed small hairpin RNAs against Ki67 RNA-induced cell growth inhibition and apoptosis in human renal carcinoma cells

Short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) transcribed by RNA polymerase III promoters can trigger sequence-selective gene silencing in mammalian cells. By virtue of their excellent function in knocking down expression of cancer-associated genes, shRNAs could be used as new therapeutic agents for cancer. As overexpression of Ki67 in renal cancer has been correlated to a more aggressive tumor phenotype, inhibition of Ki67 protein expression by means of shRNAs seems to be a promising approach for the therapy of renal cancer. In this study, we constructed an expression plasmid encoding shRNAs against the Ki67 gene, named pSilencerKi67, and transfected it into human renal carcinoma cells. The pSilencerKi67 was shown to significantly knock down the expression of the Ki67 gene in human renal carcinoma cells, resulting in inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptotic cell death that can be maintained for at least 6 d. These findings offer the promise of using vector-based shRNAs against Ki67 in renal cancer gene therapy.