Targeting A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell growth and invasion with protease‑activated receptor‑1 siRNA.

Lung cancer is the major cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide and the invasive and metastatic characteristics of lung tumor cells are responsible for their high malignancy. Protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) which is activated by a unique proteolytic mechanism. PARs have crucial roles in hemostasis and thrombosis as well as tumor progression. RNA interference (RNAi) is a fundamental cellular mechanism for gene silencing that is able to be harnessed for the development of novel anti-cancer drugs. In the present study, PAR1 was successfully inhibited by using Lipofectamine RNAiMAX transfection reagent to deliver siRNA. Inhibition occurred at the mRNA and protein level as determined by polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. Furthermore, the growth and invasion of tumor cells were significantly decreased. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the progression of A549 cells is able to be inhibited by knockdown of PAR1 expression. Efficient delivery of the specific siRNA targeting PAR1 may be used for further study in clinical cancer therapy.