Effect of short hairpin RNA of Bcl-xL gene on biological behaviors of HepG-2 cells

To investigate the inhibitory effect of short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting the Bcl-xL gene on the apoptosis and proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG-2 cells. We constructed Bcl-xL shRNA, and transfected it into HepG-2 cells, then detected Bcl-xL gene expression on mRNA and protein levels by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) and flow cytometry, respectively. Cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. Cell apoptosis and Bcl-2 and Bax expression were detected by flow cytometry. The expression of Bcl-xL was obviously inhibited by RNA interference. The inhibition rates of Bcl-xL mRNA and protein were 86.6 and 70.2%, respectively. Bcl-xL shRNA inhibited cell proliferation (P < 0.05), whereas promoted apoptosis (P < 0.01). After transfection of Bcl-xL shRNA in HepG-2 cells, the expression of Bcl-2 did not change, but Bax increased significantly. Bcl-xL shRNA effectively inhibits Bcl-xL gene expression and proliferation of HepG-2 cells and promotes apoptosis.