Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of small interfering RNA mediated pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 silencing on the proliferation, migration, invasion and clonogenic ability of SKOV3 cells and preliminarily discuss its mechanism. Methods Transient transfection interfered with SKOV3 cells in both the experimental group and the negative control group. Western blot and real-time PCR were used to verify the transfection efficiency, CCK8 and cloning formation assay were used to detect cell proliferation and cloning ability, Transwell invasion and scratch assay was used to detect cell invasion and migration ability, and flow cytometry was used to explore cell cycle and apoptosis. Results Cell proliferation and cloning ability in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.01); cell invasion and migration ability in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05); PDK1 gene silencing in SKOV3 cells shortened the cell replication period and increased its early apoptotic ability (P<0.01). Conclusions PDK1 gene silencing can significantly inhibit the proliferation, migration, invasion and cloning ability of SKOV3 cells, and shorten the S phase of cells and increase the apoptotic rate.

Key words: pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, ovarian cancer, biological behavior, tumor metabolism