Ani-survivin DNAzymes Inhibit Cell Proliferation and Migration in Breast Cancer Cell Line MCF-7

Survivin, a new member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family, both inhibits apoptosis andregulates the cell cycle. It is overexpressed in breast tumor tissues. In this study, we designed two survivinspecific DNAzymes (DRz1 and DRz2) targeting survivin mRNA. The results showed that DRz1 could decreasethe expression of survivin by nearly 60%. Furthermore, DRz1 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, inducedapoptosis and inhibited migration in MCF-7 cells. In addition, down-regulation of survivin expression wasassociated with increased caspase-3 and -9 activities in MCF-7 cells after 24 h transfection. In our experiments,the efficacy of DRz1 to influence survivin levels and associated effects were better than DRz2. Survivin-DRz1might have anti-tumorigenic activity and may potentially provide the basis for a novel therapeutic interventionin breast cancer treatment.