siRNA knockdown of ribonucleotide reductase inhibits melanoma cell line proliferation alone or synergistically with temozolomide.

Systemically delivered small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapies for cancer have begun clinical development. The effects of siRNA-mediated knockdown of ribonucleotide reductase subunit-2 (RRM2), a rate-limiting enzyme in cell replication, were investigated in malignant melanoma, a cancer with a paucity of effective treatment options. A panel of human melanoma cell lines was transfected with siRNA to induce the knockdown of RRM2. Sequence-specific, siRNA-mediated inhibition of RRM2 effectively blocked cell proliferation and induced G1/S-phase cell cycle arrest. This effect was independent of the activating oncogenic mutations in the tested cell lines. Synergistic inhibition of melanoma cell proliferation was achieved using the combination of siRNA targeting RRM2 and temozolomide, an analog of the current standard of care for melanoma chemotherapy. In conclusion, siRNA-mediated RRM2 knockdown significantly inhibits proliferation of melanoma cell lines with different oncogenic mutations with synergistic enhancement in combination with temozolomide.