Bioinformatics Study of RNA Interference on the Effect of HIF-1α on Apelin Expression in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells

Background: HIF-1α can affect the apelin expression and participates in the developments in cancers but the mechanism need to be explored further. Objective: This paper investigates apelin expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2 cells and its regulation by hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) under hypoxic conditions. Methods: CoCl2 was used to induce hypoxia in CNE-2 cells for 12h, 24h and 48h. HIF-1α small interference RNA (siRNA) was transfected into CNE-2 cells using a transient transfection method. HIF-1α and apelin mRNA levels were detected by real time PCR. Western blot was used to measure HIF-1α protein expression. The concentration of apelin in cell culture supernatant was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: HIF-1α and apelin mRNA levels and protein expression in CNE-2 cells increased gradually with increased duration of hypoxic exposure and were significantly reduced in HIF-1α siRNA transfected cells exposed to the same hypoxic conditions. Conclusion: Apelin expression is induced by hypoxia and regulated by HIF-1α in CNE-2 cells.