Abstract:Objective To investigate the effect of cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) on the apoptosis of endometrial cancer HEC-1-A cell by regulating of Yes-associated protein (YAP) expression.Methods The CDK7 expression was silenced in HEC-1-A cells with the siRNA interference technique. Then, the mRNA and protein expression levels of CDK7 were detected by qPCR and Western blotting respectively. The viability and apoptosis of HEC-1-A cells were detected by CCK-8 and flow cytometry after silencing CDK7. Expression levels of YAP, p-YAP protein and its downstream proteins Cyr16 and CTGF were detected by Western blotting after silencing CDK7. The effect of co-transfection with si-CDK7 and pcDNA3.1-YAP on the apoptosis of HEC-1-A cells was detected by apoptosis assay.Results After transfection with si-CDK7, the mRNA and protein expression levels of CDK7 in HEC-1-A cells were decreased significantly (P<0.01), the activity of HEC-1-A cells was significantly decreased (P<0.01), the apoptosis rate was significantly increased (P<0.01), and the expression levels of YAP, pYAP protein and its downstream proteins Cyr16 and CTGF were significantly decreased (P<0.01). Co-transfection of pcDNA3.1-YAP reversed the apoptosis caused by silenced CDK7 (P<0.01).Conclusion Silencing CDK7 promoted the apoptosis of endometrial cancer HEC-1-A cells by downregulating the expression of YAP.