Silencing P12CDK2AP1 with a lentivirus promotes HaCaT cell proliferation

The tumor suppressor P12CDK2AP1 negatively regulates cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) activities and suppresses DNA replication. Notably, P12CDK2AP1 is known to be downregulated in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). Silencing of specific gene expression by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) or short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) using expression vectors and retroviruses has become a powerful tool for the genetic analysis of mammalian cells. In the present study, we utilized lentivirus-mediated shRNA for functional gene knockdown in normal human skin keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells in order to assess the potential role of P12CDK2AP1 in HNSCCs. Lentivirus-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) effectively reduced endogenous P12CDK2AP1 expression in HaCaT cells and significantly promoted HaCaT cell proliferation in vitro. Lentiviral vectors have the ability to infect dividing and non-dividing cells as well as to achieve long-term multilineage gene expression. Thus, additional studies are needed to investigate the use of such vectors as a therapeutic tool for the delivery of siRNAs.