Knockdown of HNRNPA1 inhibits lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation through cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase

•HNRNPA1 protein overexpressed in lung adenocarcinoma than in adjacent normal tissues.•The expression of HNRNPA1 in A549 lung cancer cell line was downregulate by shRNA.•Knockdown of HNRNPA1 inhibited cell viability and colony formation of A549 cell line.•Downregulation of HNRNPA1 induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase.

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (HNRNPA1), a member of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein family in actively growing mammalian cells, is involved in a variety of RNA-related processes. HNRNPA1 can enhance the degradation of inhibitory subunit of nuclear factor κ B alpha (IκBα) and lengthen the telomeres. Recently, it is reported that HNRNPA1 is aberrantly expressed in varied tumors. In this study we found HNRNPA1 protein overexpressed in lung cancer tissues. To explore the exact role of HNRNPA1 in lung cancers, we carried out a loss of function analysis of HNRNPA1 in A549 lung cancer cells by RNA interference (RNAi). The results demonstrated that knockdown of HNRNPA1 inhibited cell viability and colony formation of lung cancer cells and arrested cell cycle in G0/G1 phase. Our study suggested that HNRNPA1 might play an important role in lung adenocarcinoma cells and provided a foundation for further study into the potential of HNRNPA1 for lung cancer therapy.