MicroRNA-mediated Silencing of RhoC Inhibits Tumor Invasion and Increases Chemosensitivity to Paclitaxel in SKOV3 Cells in vitro

RhoC is a member of the Ras-homologous family of genes which are implicated in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Up-regulation of RhoC is associated with tumor progression in ovarian carcinoma and RhoC is significantly correlated with the invasive capability of ovarian cancer cell lines in vitro. We developed a system that blocks RhoC in the human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells using specific MicroRNA(miRNA) interference. By transfecting SKOV3 cells with the plasmid vector to express specific MiRNA that targets human RhoC, we were able to establish a stable clone in which RhoC expression was significantly downregulated. This resulted in the de-creased invasive potential of SKOV3 cells as well as increased chemosensitivity to paclitaxel. RhoC involves in invasion and chemosensitivity of SKOV3, indicating that RhoC may be a promising therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.