Stable Knockdown of hCGβ mRNA Expression in Bladder Cancer Cells Results in Significant Growth Inhibition

Abstract

Background: Expression of human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit (hCGβ) by epithelial carcinomas is associated with a poor prognosis and has a proposed autocrine growth effect on cancer cells by inhibition of apoptosis. Material and Methods: We transduced the hCGβ-expressing bladder cancer cell line SCaBER with short hairpin (sh) RNA lentiviral gene-specific (CGB) constructs and determined its impact on the synthesis of hCGβ and the resultant effect on cancer cell growth. Results: Stable CGB gene-silenced clones exhibited a 60%-80% reduction in the level of hCGβ expressed and a reduced growth rate of more than 40% compared to wild-type SCaBER cells. Conclusions: shRNA Lentiviral particles achieve stable knockdown of hCGβ translation in the bladder cancer cell line SCaBER. This transforms the phenotype by reducing hCGβ expression and cell growth rate. This is consistent with the proposed autocrine/paracrine function of ectopic hCGβ expression during oncogenesis.