Abstract: Objective To study the effects of voltage-gated sodium channel scn8a gene (Nav1.6 subtype) on proliferation, migration and invasion of human cervical cancer SiHa cells. Methods After transfection with small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting scn8a ,the expressions of scn8a mRNA and Nav1.6 protein in human cervical cancer SiHa cells were determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. MTT method was used to examine the effect of scn8a expression on proliferation of the cells. "wound healing" and Matrigel invasion test were used to detect the effect of scn8a expression on migration and invasion of the cells, respectively. Results After 48 h of transfection with siRNA targeting scn8a, the expression of relative scn8a mRNA and Nav1.6 protein levels were decreased by 62.7% (P<0.05) and 65.8% (P<0.05), respectively. The proliferation of SiHa cells at 48 h after siRNA targeting scn8a was shown no changes. The migration of SiHa cells measured by "wound healing"after siRNA targeting scn8a was inhibited by 55.6% (P<0.05), whilst Matrigel invasion of the cells was significantly reduced by 36.9% after siRNA transfection targeting scn8a (P<0.05). Conclusion siRNA targeting scn8a gene had no effect on proliferation of cervical cancer SiHa cells, but suppressed both migration and invasion of the cells.

Key words: voltage-gated sodium channel, scn8a, RNA interference, invasion, cervical cancer