Bcl-XL small interfering RNA sensitizes cisplatin-resistant human lung adenocarcinoma cells

Bcl-XL is overexpressed in a variety of human tumors and is involved in tumorigenesis and chemoresistance. This study investigated the inhibitory effect of the hairpin Bcl-XL small interfering RNA (siRNA) on the expression of the Bcl-XL gene in the cisplatin (DDP)-resistant human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549/DDP, and the effect of Bcl-XL siRNA on drug sensitization in A549/DDP cells. Bcl-XL siRNA and negative siRNA plasmids were constructed and stably transfected into A549/DDP cells. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis were used to detect the target gene expression. Spontaneous apoptosis of cells was detected by acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining. Drug sensitivity of the cells to DDP was analyzed with dimethylthiazol-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometry. Expression levels of Bcl-XL mRNA and protein in siRNA stable transfectants were clearly reduced as compared with negative siRNA transfectants and untreated cells. MTT results indicated that Bcl-XL transfectants had a higher cell inhibition rate than the negative vector or untreated cells after treatment with 0.2-200 mu g/ml DDP. Flow cytometry revealed increased apoptosis in Bcl-XL siRNA cells. After the addition of 20 mu g/ml DDP, siRNA targeting of the Bcl-XL gene specifically down-regulated gene expression in A549/DDP cells, increased spontaneous apoptosis, and sensitized cells to DDP. The results showed that Bcl-XL siRNA contributed to an increase of DDP-induced cell death in non-small-cell lung cancer and sensitized cells to DDP, leading to increased the effectiveness of the drug in treating non-small-cell lung cancer.