Clusterin mRNA silencing reduces cell proliferation, inhibits cell migration, and increases CCL5 expression in SW480, SW620, and Caco2 cells

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the effects of specific gene silencing in colorectal cancer cells. Clusterin protein was found in the serum samples of colorectal cancer patients infected with Schistosoma mansoni previously. Methods For this reason, silencing clusterin mRNA in colorectal cancer cells was first performed to study the cytotoxic effect by lactate dehydrogenase assay. Next, propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry were performed to investigate the cell cycle profile in clusterin-silenced cells. A wound-healing assay was also used to examine the migration rate of clusterin-silenced cells. The mRNA expression of cell proliferation- and migration-related genes was then assessed by real-time PCR. Results Clusterin mRNA silencing caused a significant reduction in cell growth but induced no cell cycle arrest or potential apoptosis in all cells. It was found in this study that cell migration rate was inhibited in clusterin-silenced cells. Surprisingly, significantly induced chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (CCL5) mRNA expression was detected in clusterin-silenced Caco2, which indicated that the cell proliferation and migration of clusterin-silenced Caco2 were likely associated with CCL5 mRNA expression. Conclusions Clusterin may be a potential target for regulation, staging, surveillance, and developing a cost-effective therapeutic agent for treating parasite-infected Caco2 type of colorectal cancer patients.