Investigation of the modulatory effects of miR-421 on the necroptosis pathway in colon cancer cells

Abstract

Colon cancer is a significant cause of cancer death and morbidity worldwide. Despite significant advancements in anti-tumor therapies over recent years, enhancing the overall prognosis still presents a substantial challenge. A prevalent characteristic of many solid tumors, including colon cancer, is tumor necrosis. Recent studies have indicated that under specific conditions, cell death through necrosis can be orchestrated rather than occurring randomly. Receptor-interacting protein (RIP) kinases have been identified to be key regulators of this controlled form of necrosis. In addition, the deregulation of necroptosis has been identified to be a key driving factor during malignant progression of human tumors, including colon cancer. Accordingly, to extend our understanding of the modulatory effects of miR-421 on the necroptosis pathway, herein we performed gain-of-function studies of miR-421 in colon cancer cell lines and analyzed differential expression of receptor integrating serine-threonine kinase-1 (RIPK1), a key regulator of necroptosis in cells. Remarkably, overexpression of miR-421 significantly suppressed the expression of RIPK1 in colon cancer cells, indicating that miR-421 is a key regulatory miRNA targeting RIPK1 activity in colon cancer. Collectively, the findings obtained here strongly suggest that miR-421 can be a druggable target for the modulation of RIK1-mediated necroptotic signaling.