RESUMO
BACKGROUND: RNA interference (RNAi) is sequence-specific inhibition of gene expression induced by double-stranded RNA. OBJECTIVE: Define the role of Wilms tumor 1 gene (WT1) in breast cancer oncogenesis using RNAi. MATERIAL AND METHOD: MCF-7 breast cancer cells, which express a high level of WT1, were transfected with synthetic small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting WT1 (siRNA(WT1)) resulting in inhibition of WTI expression, as well as growth, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. RESULT: The minimum concentration of siRNA(WT1) for growth inhibition and WT1 silencing was 25 nM and 50 nM respectively. WT1 expression was completely abolished at 200 nM siRNA,. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that WTI1is indispensable for the survival of breast cancer MCF-7 cell line.