Down-regulation of ribosomal protein S15A mRNA with a short hairpin RNA inhibits human hepatic cancer cell growth in vitro

• RPS15A knockdown could inhibit hepatic cancer cell proliferation in vitro.
• Cell cycle progression was suppressed when Lv-shRPS15A was infected.
• RPS15A may play a prominent role in heptocarcinogenesis.
• RPS15A may be a potential therapeutic target in HCC.

Ribosomal protein s15a (RPS15A) is a highly conserved protein that promotes mRNA/ribosome interactions early in translation. Recent evidence showed that RPS15A could stimulate growth in yeast, plant and human lung carcinoma. Here we report that RPS15A knockdown could inhibit hepatic cancer cell growth in vitro. When transduced with shRPS15A-containing lentivirus, we observed inhibited cell proliferation and impaired colony formation in both HepG2 and Bel7404 cells. Furthermore, cell cycle analysis showed that HepG2 cells were arrested at the G0/G1 phase when transduced with Lv-shRPS15A. In conclusion, our findings provide for the first time the biological effects of RPS15A in hepatic cancer cell growth. RPS15A may play a prominent role in heptocarcinogenesis and serve as a potential therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma.