Livin gene plays a role in drug resistance of colon cancer cells.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of knockdown of Livin expression on reversing drug resistance phenotype of colon cancer HCT-8/V cells.

DESIGN AND METHODS: Specific short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was chosen and transfected in human colon cancer HCT-8/V cell line. Cell apoptosis and chemosensitivity were evaluated following downregulation of Livin expression.

RESULTS: In the current study, Livin was found to be highly expressed in the HCT-8/V colon cancer cells, which were resistant to several anti-tumor drugs. Knocking down of Livin expression in HCT-8/V cells by specific RNAi facilitated the apoptosis of HCT-8/V cells in response to vincristine (VCR), etoposide (VP-16), and 5-flourouracil (5-FU). Chemosensitivity assay confirmed the results and demonstrated the reversal of drug resistance phenotype of HCT-8/V cells.

CONCLUSION: These data suggest that specific silencing of Livin gene expression could be a promising target for further research in clinical chemotherapy of colon cancer.