Abstract
Background: Doxorubicin (DOX) acts in a variety of ways including DNA damage and enzyme inhibition, which consequently causes changes in gene expression of cells treated with this agent. Practical validation of experimental results followed by appropriate normalization of the factors investigated is crucial for obtaining biologically relevant results in gene expression studies. Materials and Methods: Six candidates were evaluated regarding their validity as internal reference genes: RPS23, FLOT2, UBB, ABCF1, ACTB, HPRT1. Optimization for quantitative polymerase reaction (qPCR) included: sensitivity, specificity, amplification efficiency and linear dynamic range determination. The gene expression stability was evaluated by real-time quantitative polymerase reaction (RT-qPCR) in two human cervical cancer cell lines: HeLa and DOX-resistant KB-V1 Cells treated under various concentrations of DOX. Results: DOX treatment changed gene expression and led to re-optimization of the cDNA template amounts. ACTB, HPRT1, RPS23 and FLOT2 are proposed to be sufficient as internal reference genes. Conclusion: DOX may alter the reverse transcription and amplification reactions of RT-qPCR, thus creating a risk of misinterpretation of gene expression results.
- Received September 28, 2015.
- Revision received November 27, 2015.
- Accepted November 30, 2015.
- Copyright© 2016, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinasios), All rights reserved