Lentivirus-Mediated Short-Hairpin RNA Targeting Protein Phosphatase 4 Regulatory Subunit 1 Inhibits Growth in Breast Cancer

PURPOSE Protein phosphatase 4 regulatory subunit 1 (PP4R1), as an interaction partner of the catalytic serine/threonine-protein phosphatase 4 catalytic subunit has been shown to involve in cellular processes and nuclear factor κB signaling. However, the functions of PP4R1 in human breast cancers remain unclear. This study is designed to explore the effect of PP4R1 knockdown on the biological characteristics of breast cancer cells. METHODS A lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was designed to knockdown the expression of PP4R1 in ZR-75-30 breast cancer cells. The efficiency of lentivirus-mediated shRNA infection was determined using fluorescence microscopy to observe lentivirus-mediated green fluorescent protein expression and confirmed to be over 80%. PP4R1 expression in infected ZR-75-30 cells was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. Cell proliferation and colony formation ability were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and colony formation assay, respectively. Flow cytometry was used to measure cell cycle progression and cell apoptosis. In addition, apoptosis makers, including poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) and caspase-3, were investigated in PP4R1-silenced ZR-75-30 cells by western blot assay. RESULTS We successfully constructed lentivirus-mediated shRNA to target PP4R1 in ZR-75-30 cells. MTT assay and colony formation assay showed the loss of PP4R1 suppressed the proliferation of ZR-75-30 cells. Flow cytometry analysis indicated cell cycle arrest and increased cell apoptosis in PP4R1 knockdown cells. Further, the apoptosis response in cells depleted of PP4R1 was illustrated by downregulation of PARP and upregulation of caspase-3. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that PP4R1 could promote breast cancer cell proliferation and might play a vital role in breast cancer occurrence.