The Effect of Silencing HIF-1α Gene in BxPC-3 Cell Line on Glycolysis-Related Gene Expression, Cell Growth, Invasion, and Apoptosis

Abstract

Hypoxia has been proved to be a typical character of solid tumors. Tumor cells prefer to use glucose through the glycolysis pathway instead of aerobic respiration. However, the precise molecular mechanism underlying this so-called Warburg effect remains elusive. In the current study, siRNA was synthesized and transfected into BxPC-3 cell line to silence the expression of HIF-1α gene. It was found that hypoxia induced hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) overexpression in BxPC-3 cells, enhanced the expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 and lactate dehydrogenase A, thus facilitating glycolysis and making tumor cells more tolerant to hypoxic stress. The silencing of HIF-1α gene significantly attenuated glycolysis under hypoxic conditions, inhibited the growth and invasion ability of BxPC-3 cells, and enhanced hypoxia-induced cell apoptosis.

FUNDING

This article is supported by Youth Science Foundation of Fudan University. We thank Prof. Fang Jing for his helpful and insightful discussions and suggestions. We also thank Meng Qing-Yang and Gong Yu-Da for their assistance with cell experiments.