Alterations of microRNAs expression in response to 5-Fluorouracil, Oxaliplatin, and Irinotecan treatment of colorectal cancer cells

Abstract

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), Irinotecan, and Oxaliplatin are the main chemotherapeutic drugs for treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) dysregulation was reported in many solid tumors, some miRNAs act as oncogenic and thus overexpressed, while others act as tumor suppressor and downregulated in the cancer cells. Alteration of miRNAs expression was observed after chemotherapy suggesting that this alteration may play an important role in yet unexplored molecular mechanisms of chemotherapeutic drugs. To evaluate the possible role of miRNAs as indicator for treatment outcome of CRC, we examined the expression of four miRNAs (miR-16, miR-143, miR-135b, and miR-155) in Caco-2 CRC cell line after treatment with 5-FU, Irinotecan, and Oxaliplatin. The expression of miRNAs was determined in treated cells and compared with their expression in control cells using real time PCR. Treatment of the CRC cells with 5-FU, Irinotecan, or Oxaliplatin resulted in overexpression of miR-135 and down-expression of miR-155. While the expression of miR-16 and miR-143 was variable. In conclusion; alteration in miR-155 expression after treatment of CRC cells may be a good indicator for the success of chemotherapeutic treatment.