Expression of Med19 in bladder cancer tissues and its role on bladder cancer cell growth

The human Med19 gene encodes a critical subunit that stabilizes the whole mediator complex. To understand the role of Med19 in bladder cancer, we studied the effects of lentivirus-mediated suppression of Med19 expression on bladder cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

In this study, immunohistochemical analysis was used to demonstrate the expression of Med19 in human bladder cancer. The lentivirus vectors containing a small hairpin RNA (shRNA) to target Med19 were constructed. After bladder cancer cells (5637 and T24) were infected, RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to measure Med19 expression. The influence of Med19 on the proliferation of bladder cancer cells were assessed using MTT, BrdU, colony formation and tumorigenicity experiments. Cell cycle was analyzed with flow cytometric assay.

Med19 was up-regulated in human bladder cancers compared with adjacent benign tissues by immunohistochemical analysis, but was strongly inhibited in 5637 and T24 bladder cancer cells infected with lentiviruses delivering shRNA against Med19. The down-regulation of Med19 increased the proportion of cells in G0/G1 phases and attenuated the growth of 5637 and T24 cells in vitro. The tumorigenicity of Med19-suppressed T24 cells was decreased after inoculation into nude mice.

Our results suggested that lentiviruses delivering shRNA against Med19 may be a promising tool for bladder cancer therapy.