Objective   This work aimed to construct stable MCF-7 cell sublines from which staphylococcal nuclease domain containing 1 (SND1) expression was interfered to analyze the effect of SND1 silencing on the proliferation and metastasis of MCF-7 cells.

  Methods   The lentivirus that could mediate SND1 silencing was prepared. MCF-7 cells were infected with the lentiviruses to construct stable sub-cell lines. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis were employed to determine SND1 expression level. MTS, wound healing, and transwell assays were applied to analyze the effect of SND1 silencing on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of MCF-7 cells.

  Results   Results: A lentivirus expression vector that contains sequences encoding shRNAs targeting SND1 and an shRNA negative control were successfully established. The lentiviruses (LV-SH1, LV-SH2, LV-SH3, and和LV-NC) were then collected and packaged. Stabilized MCF-7 sublines were prepared through infection with lentiviruses. The most efficient MCF-7 stable cell subline, MCF-SH3, was selected for SND1 silencing. Compared with the control cell, the proliferation, migration, and invasion potential of MCF-SH3 were significantly decreased.

  Conclusion   SND1 could promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells. Thus, silencing SND1 expression will inhibit such proliferation, migration, and invasion. These results indicated that the unusual expression of SND1 is associated with breast cancer and may participate in cancer progression by affecting proliferation, migration, and invasion.