Effects of silencing MALAT1 on proliferation and apoptosis in HepG2 cells induced by Melittin / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To investigate the effects of silencing MALAT1 gene on cell proliferation inhibition and apop-tosis induced by Melittin in human hepatocellular car-cinoma HepG2 cells. Methods The inhibitory rate of cell proliferation treated with Melittin in HepG2 cells was examined by MTT assay. Apoptotic rate was detec-ted by flow cytometry. The MALAT1 expression level in HepG2 cells was measured by qPCR. Specific siR-NAs were utilized to silence MALAT1 expression. The rates of cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis in HepG2 cells treated with siRNA and Melittin were compared with those of Melittin alone. Results Melit-tin significantly suppressed the growth of HepG2 and induced cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with normal liver cell lines, MALAT1 was highly expressed in HepG2 cells ( P<0. 05 ) . The ex-pression of MALAT1 in HepG2 cells was inhibited by Melittin, and the inhibitory rate increased with the in-crease of concentration. The rates of cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis in HepG2 cells treated with siRNA and Melittin were significantly higher than those treated merely with Melittin. Conclusion Melittin can reduce the expression of MALAT1 and silencing MALAT1 can effectively promote proliferation inhibi-tion and apoptosis in HepG2 cells induced by Melittin.