Nuclear condensation and cell cycle arrest induced by telomerase siRNA in neuroblastoma cells.

Neuroblastoma is a type of malignant extracranial tumor that occurs in children. Advanced neuroblastoma, and tumors with MYCN amplification in particular, have poor prognoses. Therefore, it is important to find an effective cure for this disease. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) disrupts gene function by specifically binding to target mRNA. In this study, we used siRNA against telomerase to treat neuroblastoma, to evaluate any anti-proliferative effect on these cells. We evaluated cell viability by WST-1 assay on neuroblastoma cells treated with or without telomerase siRNA. Nuclear condensation, an indicator for apoptotic cells, was determined by DAPI labeling following siRNA treatment. The effectiveness of telomerase siRNA on altering the neuroblastoma cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry. Our results indicated that telomerase siRNA reduces the viability of neuroblastoma cells and increases the percentage of cells in the cell cycle's sub-G1 phase. We found that telomerase siRNA increases the percentage of condensed DNA in neuroblastoma cells. In conclusion, using siRNA against telomerase could be further developed as a therapy for the treatment of neuroblastoma.