HDAC6 siRNA Inhibits Proliferation and Induces Apoptosis of HeLa Cells and its Related Molecular Mechanism

Objective: To investigate the effects of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) siRNA on cell proliferation and cellapoptosis of the HeLa cervical carcinoma cell line and the molecular mechanisms involved.
Methods: Divisionwas into three groups: A, the untreated group; B, the control siRNA group; and C, the HDAC6 siRNA group.Lipofectamine 2000 was used for siRNA transfection, and Western blot analysis was used to determine the proteinlevels. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were characterized using a CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively.
Results: HDAC6 protein expression in the HDAC6 siRNA-transfection group was significantly lower (P < 0.05)than in the untreated and control siRNA groups. The CCK-8 kit results demonstrated that the proliferation ofHeLa cells was clearly inhibited in the HDAC6 siRNA transfection group (P < 0.05). In addition, flow cytometryrevealed that the early apoptotic rate (26.0% ± 0.87%) was significantly elevated (P < 0.05) as compared withthe untreated group (10.6% ± 1.19%) and control siRNA group (8.61% ± 0.98%). Furthermore, Western blotanalysis indicated that bcl-2 protein expression in the HDAC6 siRNA–transfection group was down-regulated,whereas the expression of p21 and bax was up-regulated.
Conclusion: HDAC6 plays an essential role in theoccurrence and development of cervical carcinoma, and the down-regulation of HDAC6 expression may beuseful molecular therapeutic method.