[RAPD analysis and construction of specific DNA probes between Pinellia ternata and Typhonium flagelliforme].

Objective: To establish a molecular marking method to identify Pinellia ternata and Typhonium flagelliforme.

Methods: Twenty-two random oligonucleotide primers were used in RAPD analysis on the genomic DNA of two types of Pinellia ternata in Sichuan and two types of Typhonium flagelliforme in Guangxi. The special fragments were sequenced, marked as probes and then conducted Southern blot.

Down-regulation of Bcl-XL by RNA interference suppresses cell growth and induces apoptosis in human esophageal cancer cells.

Aim: To determine the inhibitory effect of the vector-generated small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) on the expression of the Bcl-X(L) gene in established human esophageal cancer cells, and to investigate the effect of the Bcl-X(L) siRNAs on cell growth and apoptosis in esophageal cancer cells.

Methods: Three siRNA-expressing vectors targeting different sites of the Bcl-X(L) gene were constructed from pTZ-U6+1 vector. Cultured esophageal cancer cells were transfected with the siRNA-expressing vector (or the control vector) using lipofectamine 2000.