Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of Krüppel-like factor 9 inhibits the growth of ovarian cancer

Purpose Ovarian cancer is among the top diseases in the list of malignant gynaecologic tumors. In the present study, we aim to investigate the effect of lentivirus-mediated knockdown of Krüppel-like factor 9 (KLF9) on cell viability and tumor growth in ovarian cancer. Methods Firstly, the expression of KLF9 was determined by real-time PCR and western blot in human ovarian cancer tissues. Then, endogenous KLF9 expression was silenced by lentivirus in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cells, and followed by MTT and BrdU incorporation assays, cell cycle analysis and tumor xenografts in nude mice. Results Our results found that the expression of KLF9 is up-regulated in human ovarian cancer. As expected, KLF9 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation and resulted in cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. Besides, KLF9 deficiency significantly inhibited tumor growth in nude mice. Conclusion Therefore, our data reveal that lentivirus-mediated KLF9 silencing might be promising in the treatment of human ovarian cancer.