Red fluorescence of TLR4 staining under the fluorescence microscope was drastically reduced by TLR4AsiRNA in comparison to vector control. No obvious difference was seen in siRNA control (Figure 3A). To access the potential effects of TLR4AsiRNA-mediated TLR4 silencing on cell proliferation and survival, MTT analysis was performed on the cells cultured 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h following 48 h of transfection. Targeting click here of TLR4AsiRNA against

TLR4 effected the proliferative ability of MDA-MB-231 (Figure 3B). The proliferative rate was significantly decreased according to the time of culture after transfection with TLR4AsiRNA compared with vector control; no significant difference was observed in siRNA control (P > 0.05). The biological consequences caused by TLR4 silencing may be a result of changes in TLR4-mediated signaling and subsequent downstream functions. Because increased TLR4 activates TLR4/MyD88 signaling and subsequent downstream functions [17], we decided to examine the status of the TLR4-related inflammatory cytokines in MDA-MB-231 with TLR4 gene knockdown. Analysis of FCM revealed that IL-6 and IL-8 were markedly depressed in the supernatant of silenced cells. The inhibition ration of cytokine IL-6 and IL-8 was 47.8 ± 3.9% and 48.3 ± 4.1% respectively when compared with

vector control (P < 0.05), no significant difference was seen in siRNA control (Figure 3C and Figure 3D). These results suggested that decreased TLR4 levels PF-01367338 mw in tumor cells might endow cells with attenuated growth and survival capacity. Figure 3 TLR4 expression and functional effect after TLR4 knockdown in human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. A, immunofluorescence analysis of gene-specific siRNA on TLR4 protein expression in pGenesil-1 vector, ScrambledsiRNA aminophylline and TLR4AsiRNA transfected cells. Nuclear staining was performed using DAPI (blue)

(200×). B, MTT analysis of the proliferative rate of pGenesil-1 vector, ScrambledsiRNA and TLR4AsiRNA transfected cells. C and D, IL-6 and IL-8 presence in the supernatant secreted by pGenesil-1 vector, ScrambledsiRNA and TLR4AsiRNA transfected cells. Cell supernatant was analyzed using flow cytometry. All results are representative of three separate experiments. Discussion Recently, much attention has been paid to TLRs and their potential role in different cancers. However, investigations of TLRs and breast cancer are limited. Merrell. et al. [10] showed that TLR9 protein is expressed in human breast cancer cells and clinical breast cancer samples. Stimulation of TLR9-expressing breast cancer cells with the TLR9 agonistic CpG oligonucleotides dramatically increased their in vitro invasion capacity in both Matrigel assays and three-dimensional collagen cultures. Ilvesaro. et al.