GPER mediated estradiol reduces miR-148a to promote HLA-G expression in breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common malignant diseases in women. miR-148a plays an important role in regulation of cancer cell proliferation and cancer invasion and down-regulation of miR-148a has been reported in both estrogen receptor (ER) positive and triple-negative (TN) breast cancer. However, the regulation mechanism of miR-148a is unclear. The role of estrogen signaling, a signaling pathway is important in development and progression of breast cancer. Therefore, we speculated that E2 may regulate miR-148a through G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor-1 (GPER). To test our hypothesis, we checked the effects of E2 on miR-148a expression in ER positive breast cancer cell MCF-7 and TN cancer cell MDA-MB-231. Then we used GPER inhibitor G15 to investigate whether GPER is involved in regulation of E2 on miR-148a. Furthermore, we analyzed whether E2 affects the expression of HLA-G, which is a miR-148a target gene through GPER. The results showed that E2 induces the level of miR-148a in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, GPER mediates the E2-induced increase in miR-148a expression in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells and E2-GPER regulates the expression of HLA-G by miR-148a. In conclusion, our findings offer important new insights into the ability of estrogenic GPER signaling to trigger HLA-G expression through inhibiting miR-148a that supports immune evasion in breast cancer.     

miR-148a promoted cell proliferation by targeting p27 in gastric cancer cells

Accumulating evidence has shown that miRNAs are aberrantly expressed in human gastric cancer and crucial to tumorigenesis. Herein, we identified the role of miR-148a in gastric cell proliferation. miR-148a knockdown inhibited cell proliferation in gastric cancer cell lines. Conversely, miR-148a overexpression promoted cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. p27, a key inhibitor of cell cycle, was verified as the target of miR-148a, indicating miR-148a might downregulate p27 expression to promote gastric cell proliferation. Moreover, we confirmed that miR-148a expression was frequently and dramatically downregulated in human advanced gastric cancer tissues, and observed a good inverse correlation between miR-148a and p27 expression in tumor samples. Thus, our results demonstrated that miR-148a downregulation might exert some sort of antagonistic function in cell proliferation, rather than promote cell proliferation in gastric cancer.     

Loss of exosomal miR-148b from cancer-associated fibroblasts promotes endometrial cancer cell invasion and cancer metastasis

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play crucial roles in tumor progression, given the dependence of cancer cells on stromal support. Therefore, understanding how CAFs communicate with endometrial cancer cell in tumor environment is important for endometrial cancer therapy. Exosomes, which contain proteins and noncoding RNA, are identified as an important mediator of cell–cell communication. However, the function of exosomes in endometrial cancer metastasis remains poorly understood. In the current study we found that CAF-derived exosomes significantly promoted endometrial cancer cell invasion comparing to those from normal fibroblasts (NFs). We identified a significant decrease of miR-148b in CAFs and CAFs-derived exosomes. By exogenously transfect microRNAs, we demonstrated that miR-148b could be transferred from CAFs to endometrial cancer cell through exosomes. In vitro and in vivo studies further revealed that miR-148b functioned as a tumor suppressor by directly binding to its downstream target gene, DNMT1 to suppress endometrial cancer metastasis. In endometrial cancer DNMT1 presented a potential role in enhancing cancer cell metastasis by inducing epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Therefore, downregulated miR-148b induced EMT of endometrial cancer cell as a result of relieving the suppression of DNMT1. Taken together, these results suggest that CAFs-mediated endometrial cancer progression is partially related to the loss of miR-148b in the exosomes of CAFs and promoting the transfer of stromal cell-derived miR-148b might be a potential treatment to prevent endometrial cancer progression.     

miR-148a通过靶向调节己糖激酶2基因抑制乳腺癌细胞糖酵解和细胞增殖能力

为了探讨miR-148a及己糖激酶2（hexokinase 2,HK2）基因对人乳腺癌细胞糖酵解代谢途径的影响和可能机制,利用实时荧光定量PCR（real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR,qRT-PCR）检测多种乳腺癌细胞系中miR-148a的表达量,从中筛选miR-148a表达量相对较低的乳腺癌细胞系作为研究对象。再通过观察miR-148a表达量的变化对乳腺癌细胞葡萄糖摄取量、乳酸生成量和细胞增殖指标的影响,以探究miR-148a对乳腺癌细胞糖代谢能力的影响。随后,通过TargetScan在线数据库预测miR-148a和HK2基因的靶向关系,再通过双荧光素酶报告实验、Western免疫印迹以及基因回复实验进行验证,以进一步明确miR-148a和HK2在乳腺癌细胞的糖酵解代谢途径中的作用机制。通过qRT-PCR发现miR-148a在多种乳腺癌细胞系表达降低,尤其是在乳腺癌细胞系MDA-MB231中表达量显著降低（P<0.000 1）。过表达miR-148a使MDA-MB231细胞的葡萄糖摄取量、乳酸生成量、细胞增殖指标均显著下降（P<0.01）;而抑制miR-148a表达使MDA-MB231细胞葡萄糖摄取量、乳酸生成量、细胞增殖指标均显著上升（P<0.01）。通过TargetScan在线数据库预测得出,miR-148a与HK2基因3′非编码区（3′-untranslated region,3′-UTR）具有部分结合位点;而双荧光素酶报告实验发现miR-148a与野生型HK2基因的3′-UTR荧光素酶报告载体结合,不与突变型HK2基因的3′-UTR结合。Western免疫印迹检测结果表明,过表达miR-148a使MDA-MB231细胞中HK2蛋白表达量显著下降（P＜0.000 1）,而抑制miR-148a表达则促进HK2蛋白表达量显著上升（P<0.05）。基因回复实验显示,过表达HK2基因使MDA-MB231乳腺癌细胞的葡萄糖摄取量、乳酸生成量、细胞增殖指标显著上升（P＜0.01）;将过表达miR-148a载体与过表达HK2载体共转染MDA-MB231细胞,miR-148a逆转了HK2所致的葡萄糖摄取量增加和乳酸生成量上升,并抑制细胞增殖。因此,研究提示,miR-148a可通过靶向抑制HK2基因表达而抑制乳腺癌细胞MDA-MB231糖酵解代谢和细胞增殖。     

胃癌相关mir-148a靶向调控胃泌素受体CCKBR

目的：研究胃癌相关miR-148a与胃泌素受体CCKBR的调控关系,并分析其调控结合位点。方法生物信息学预测人CCKBR 3’ UTR上miR-148a 的结合位点;利用 PCR扩增 miR-148a 前体构建真核表达载体;Northern Blot检测miR-148a真核表达载体的表达;构建CCKBR 3’UTR野生型和突变型荧光素酶报告载体,并利用双荧光素酶活性分析检测分析miR-148a对CCKBR基因表达的调控和结合位点;Western Blot检测miR-148a过表达对CCKBR蛋白表达的作用。结果在人CCKBR 3’UTR上找到3个miR-148a的潜在结合位点;miR-148a真核表达载体构建成功,转染胃癌细胞后可显著过表达;miR-148a通过人CCKBR 3’UTR上423bp处的结合位点抑制CCKBR的基因表达;miR-148a过表达显著抑制胃癌细胞中CCKBR的蛋白表达。结论 CCKBR是胃癌相关miR-148a的靶基因,miR-148a通过其3’UTR上的结合位点抑制CCKBR的基因表达和蛋白合成,提示miR-148a可能通过调控CCKBR参与胃癌的发生发展。     

miR-148a在5-aza诱导间充质干细胞心肌样分化中的调控作用及机制

目的：探讨miR-148a在5-aza诱导人骨髓间充质（hMSCs）成心肌样分化中的表达及miR-148a对hMSCs体外成心肌样分化的生物学作用。方法：免疫荧光检测5-aza诱导hMSCs分化后心肌细胞特异性标志物α-MHC表达水平;qRT-PCR和Western blot分别检测miR-148a和DNMT1在hMSCs成肌样分化中的表达水平。利用Lipofectamine TM 2000将miR-148a mimics和miR-148a inhibitor分别瞬时转染hMSCs,Western blot检测心肌细胞特异性标志物α-MHC的蛋白表达水平。利用生物信息学技术预测miR-148a的靶基因结合位点利用双荧光素酶报告基因系统鉴定其对靶基因3'UTR的结合序列。通过DNMT1 shRNA和miR-148a inhibitors共转到hMSCs中,研究miR-148a在hMSCs成心肌样分化中的调控作用。结果：hMSCs经5-aza诱导分化后,心肌细胞特性标志物α-MHC蛋白水平明显上调。miR-148a在hBMSCs成肌样分化中显著性增加（P<0.01）,DNMT1表达水平显著降低。过表达miR-148a能提高hBMSC中心肌细胞特异性标志物α-MHC表达水平,而抑制miR-148a则能降低其水平（P<0.01）。DNMT1沉默可以阻断miR-148a对hMSCs的诱导成肌样分化作用。结论：miR-148a在hMCCs成肌样分化中表达上调,通过靶定和调控DNMT1基因的表达,并对hMSCs心肌向分化具有正向调控作用。     

MiR-148a Attenuates Paclitaxel Resistance of Hormone-refractory,Drug-resistant Prostate Cancer PC3 Cells by Regulating MSK1 Expression

MicroRNAs are involved in cancer pathogenesis and act as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. It has been recently reported that miR-148a expression is down-regulated in several types of cancer. The functional roles and target genes of miR-148a in prostate cancer, however, remain unknown. In this report, we showed that miR-148a expression levels were lower in PC3 and DU145 hormone-refractory prostate cancer cells in comparison to PrEC normal human prostate epithelial cells and LNCaP hormone-sensitive prostate cancer cells. Transfection with miR-148a precursor inhibited cell growth, and cell migration and invasion, and increased the sensitivity to anti-cancer drug paclitaxel in PC3 cells. Computer-aided algorithms predicted mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinase, MSK1, as a potential target of miR-148a. Indeed, miR-148a overexpression decreased expression of MSK1. Using luciferase reporter assays, we identified MSK1 as a direct target of miR-148a. Suppression of MSK1 expression by siRNA, however, showed little or no effects on malignant phenotypes of PC3 cells. In PC3PR cells, a paclitaxel-resistant cell line established from PC3 cells, miR-148a inhibited cell growth, and cell migration and invasion, and also attenuated the resistance to paclitaxel. MiR-148a reduced MSK1 expression by directly targeting its 3′-UTR in PC3PR cells. Furthermore, MSK1 knockdown reduced paclitaxel-resistance of PC3PR cells, indicating that miR-148a attenuates paclitaxel-resistance of hormone-refractory, drug-resistant PC3PR cells in part by regulating MSK1 expression. Our findings suggest that miR-148a plays multiple roles as a tumor suppressor and can be a promising therapeutic target for hormone-refractory prostate cancer especially for drug-resistant prostate cancer.     

Exosome-depleted MiR-148a-3p derived from Hepatic Stellate Cells Promotes Tumor Progression via ITGA5/PI3K/Akt Axis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Although it has been known that hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play critical roles in the development and progression of HCC, the molecular mechanism underlying crosstalk between HSCs and cancer cells still remains unclear. Here, we investigated the interactions between HSCs and cancer cells through an indirect co-culture system. The expressions of cellular and exosomal miR-148a-3p were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. Cell counting kit-8 was used for evaluating cell growth in vitro. Cell migration and invasion ability were evaluated by wound-healing and Transwell assays. Western blot, quantitative real-time PCR and Luciferase reporter assay were performed to determine the target gene of miR-148a-3p. A xenograft liver cancer model was established to study the function of exosomal miR-148a-3p in vivo.We found that miR-148a-3p was downregulated in co-cultured HSCs and overexpression of miR-148a-3p in HSCs impaired the proliferation and invasiveness of HCC both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, further study showed that the miR-148a-3p was also downexpressed in HSCs-derived exosomes, and increased HSCs-derived exosomal miR-148a-3p suppressed HCC tumorigenesis through ITGA5/PI3K/Akt pathway. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that exosome-depleted miR-148a-3p derived from activated HSCs accelerates HCC progression through ITGA5/PI3K/Akt axis.     

鸡miR-148a的组织表达及其发育调控功能预测分析

为了解鸡miR-148a组织表达谱和潜在发育调控功能,采用茎-环定量RT-PCR检测了固始鸡5个发育阶段、15种组织中miR-148a的表达,利用Pictar和TargetScan算法预测了miR-148a的靶基因,并对预测靶基因分别进行了Gene Ontology分析和通路分析. 结果显示,miR-148a的表达具有明显的时序特征,胚胎期各组织中的表达水平明显低于出壳后;miR-148a在出壳后的大脑、小脑、延脑、腺胃、小肠、肝、胰和胸肌等器官组织中的表达水平随着发育进程被显著上调;miR-148a预测靶基因在胚胎器官形态发生、血细胞生成、消化道形态发生、心血管发育、感觉器官发育、肠发育、骨骼系统发育、后脑发育、呼吸系统发育、免疫系统发育、淋巴器官等发育过程显著富集. 总之,鸡miR-148a为广泛性表达miRNA,可能参与鸡诸多器官组织发育过程的调控.     

LncRNA PVT1 promotes the progression of ovarian cancer by activating TGF-β pathway via miR-148a-3p/AGO1 axis

Ovarian cancer is a lethal gynaecologic malignancy with poor diagnosis and prognosis. The long non-coding RNA plasmacytoma variant translocation1 (PVT1) and argonaute 1 (AGO1) are associated with carcinogenesis and chemoresistance; however, the relationship between PVT1 and AGO1 and the downstream mechanisms in ovarian cancer remains poorly known. PVT1 and AGO1 expression was assessed through RT-qPCR and Western blotting in both human tissues and cell lines. The viability and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells were determined by CCK-8 assay and TUNEL assay in vitro and immunohistochemistry in vivo. Cell invasion and migration were investigated through transwell and wound-healing assays. The roles and mechanisms of AGO1 on cell functions were further probed via gain- and loss-of-function analysis. We reveal that PVT1 expression was significantly increased in ovarian cancer tissues which is associated with advanced FIGO stage, lymph-node metastasis, poor survival rate, and high expression of AGO1. PVT1 or AGO1 knockdown significantly reduced the cell viability and increased the cell apoptosis and inhibited ovarian tumour growth and proliferation. Furthermore, we discovered that PVT1 up-regulated the expression of AGO1 and thus regulated the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway to promote ovarian cancer progression through sponging miR-148a-3p. Additionally, the activation of ERK1/2, smad2 and smad4 is observed to be related to the PVT1/miR-148a-3p/AGO1/TGF-β pathway-induced cascades. Taken together, the present study reveals that PVT1/miR-148a/AGO1 axis plays an important role in the progression of ovarian cancer and emphasize the potential as a target of value for ovarian cancer therapy.     

microRNA-148a-3p inhibited the proliferation and epithelial–mesenchymal transition progression of non-small-cell lung cancer via modulating Ras/MAPK/Erk signaling

Son of sevenless (SOS) is one of the guanine nucleotide exchange factors that can regulate the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal regulated kinase signal pathway via controlling the activation of Ras. microRNAs are key regulon of gene expression and would be treated as tumor biomarkers or therapeutic targets. In this study, we find that miR-148a-3p acts as a tumor-suppressor in the development and progression of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). miR-148a-3p inhibits NSCLC cells proliferation and epithelial–mesenchymal transition by reducing the expression of SOS2, which refers Ras activating. Our findings demonstrate that the miR-148a-3p may play a significant role in NSCLC including the kind of lung cancer with K-Ras gene mutation, and it exerted the tumor inhibitor function by targeting SOS2. Because of that, miR-148a-3p and SOS2 may be an efficient target in developing more useful therapies against NSCLC.     

miRNA-148a and miRNA-30c expressions as potential biomarkers in breast cancer patients

BackgroundBreast cancer is an extensively identified malignant tumor and is a prime cause of cancer mortalities in females. It has been shown that alteration of miRNAs expression (up or down regulation) can affect the initiation and progression of many malignancies. We aimed to evaluate the role of circulating miRNA-148a and miRNA-30c in female patients with breast cancer and estimate their usage as potential biomarkers in the diagnosis, prognosis and survival of breast cancer.MethodsThis study included 75 breast cancer female patients.They were compared with 55 apparently healthy female subjects. miRNAs expression analysis was assessed via real-time PCR.ResultsTo discriminate breast cancer patients from controls, miR-30c showed the best performance at a cut off value of ≤20.6 (AUC = 0.998, 97.33% sensitivity, 96.36% specificity, p < 0.001), followed by miR-148a (AUC = 0.995, 94.67% sensitivity, 90.91% specificity, p < 0.001 at a cut off value of ≤0.1), CA 15-3 (AUC = 0.930, 88.0% sensitivity, 81.82% specificity, p < 0.001 at a cut off value of >21.3), and finally CEA (AUC = 0.751, 70.67% sensitivity, 63.64% specificity, p < 0.001 at a cut off value of >2.5).ConclusionmiRNA-148a and miRNA-30c expressions were down regulated in female patients with breast cancer and might be considered as potential blood biomarkers. Both also might have rule in disease treatment and selection of therapeutic targets. Future studies are needed to improve their role in predicting response to treatment and prognosis.     

LncRNA HOTTIP inhibits cell pyroptosis by targeting miR-148a-3p/AKT2 axis in ovarian cancer

Long noncoding RNA HOTTIP is a crucial regulator in multiple types of cancer, including ovarian cancer (OC). However, the biological roles and underlying mechanisms of HOTTIP in OC have rarely been studied. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the functional correlation between HOTTIP and pyroptosis in OC progression. The expression of HOTTIP in OC tissues and cell lines was characterized by quantitative real-time PCR. Cell proliferation was evaluated using Cell Counting Kit-8 and clone formation assays. Western blot was performed to quantify protein levels. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to analyze the molecular interaction among HOTTIP, miR-148a-3p, and AKT2. The expression of HOTTIP was significantly upregulated in OC tissue samples and cell lines. The silencing of HOTTIP led to the inhibition of cell proliferation and NLRP1 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis. In addition, HOTTIP increased AKT2 expression by negatively regulating miR-148a-3p and then inhibited ASK1/JNK signaling. Further rescue experiments revealed that downregulation of miR-148a-3p and overexpression of AKT2 obviously diminished the effects of HOTTIP downregulation in OC cells. Thus, our study elucidated a novel pyroptosis-related mechanism by which HOTTIP participated in OC progression, which might provide a theoretical reference for clinical treatment.     

miRNA-148b suppresses hepatic cancer stem cell by targeting neuropilin-1

The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is considered as a direct reason for the failure of clinic treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Growing evidences have demonstrated that miRNAs play an important role in regulation of stem cell proliferation, differentiation and self-renewal and their aberrances cause the formation of CSCs and eventually result in carcinogenesis. We recently identified miRNA-148b as one of the miRNAs specifically down-regulated in side population (SP) cells of PLC/PRF/5 cell line. However, it remains elusive how miRNA-148b regulates CSC properties in HCC. In the present study, we observed that overexpression or knockdown of miR-148b through lentiviral transfection could affect the proportion of SP cells as well as CSC-related gene expression in HCC cell lines. In addition, miR-148b blocking could stimulate cell proliferation, enhance chemosensitivity, as well as increase cell metastasis and angiogenesis in vitro. More importantly, miR-148b could significantly suppress tumorigenicity in vivo. Further studies revealed that Neuropilin-1 (NRP1), a transmembrane co-receptor involved in tumour initiation, metastasis and angiogenesis, might be the direct target of miRNA-148b. Taking together, our findings define that miR-148b might play a critical role in maintenance of SP cells with CSC properties by targeting NRP1 in HCC. It is the potential to develop a new strategy specifically targeting hepatic CSCs (HCSCs) through restoration of miR-148b expression in future therapy.