Silencing of COX-2 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells with a shRNAmir lentivirus vector / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To construct a miR-155-based lentivirus vector to induce cyclooxygenase-2 gene silencing in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells by expressing anti-COX-2 shRNAmir.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>miR-155-based anti-COX-2 shRNAmir template was synthesized and inserted into pLVTHM plasmid. The recombinant pLVTHM/shRNAmir was transfected into 293FT cells for packaging the lentivirus vector. After infection with the lentivirus vector, the GFP-positive cells were screened by flow cytometry, and COX-2 mRNA level was detected by RT-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Restriction digestion and DNA sequencing confirmed successful construction of the anti-COX-2 vector pLVTHM/shRNAmir. A subline of C666-1 cells was established after infection with the lentivirus vector, and the COX-2 expression in the cells was stably silenced.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The shRNAmir lentivirus vector constructed may serve as an effective COX-2 inhibitor, which may facilitate future studies of gene therapy of NPC.</p>