siRNA and shRNA as Anticancer Agents in a Cervical Cancer Model

We describe the protocols of using siRNAs, or shRNAs delivered by a lentiviral vector, as a means to silence cancer-causing genes. We use cervical cancer as a model to demonstrate the inhibition of the human papillomavirus (HPV) oncogenes E6 and E7 in cervical cancer cells by RNAi and inhibition of the cell growth in vitro and tumor growth in mouse models. The protocols include methods on siRNA and shRNA design, production of lentiviral-vectored shRNA, transfection or transduction of cervical cancer cells with siRNA or shRNA, and detection of the inhibitory effects of siRNA or shRNA both in vitro and in vitro .