OBJECTIVETo study the inhibitory effects of antisense bicistronic recombinant adenovirus vector of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (Ad-ODC-AdoMetDCas) on polyamine biosynthesis,proliferation and invasion of lung cancer cells.

METHODSAdenovirus-mediated gene transduction efficiency was assessed with counting GFP-positive cells using trypan blue. Western Blot and HPLC were used to detect ODC and S-AdoMetDC expression and polyamine content in A-549 cells respectively. Viable cell counting and cell cycle analysis were adopted to evaluate cell growth and cell cycle distribution, and A-549 cell invasion in vitro was detected with Matrigel invasion assay.

RESULTSApproximate 75% of A-549 cells were infected with Ad-ODC-AdoMetDCas when multiplicity of infection reached 50. Our study demonstrated that Ad-ODC-AdoMetDCas vector-mediated gene transfer inhibited tumor cell growth through the blockade of polyamine synthesis pathway. The tumor cells were arrested at cell cycle G1 phase after gene transfer. Gene transferred tumor cells were shown to possess markedly decreased invasiveness.

CONCLUSIONAd-ODC-AdoMetDCas has significant inhibitory effects on lung cancer cell proliferation and invasion and bears therapeutic potential for the treatment of lung cancer.