Abstract
Colon cancer is the third most common cancer and a significant cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Metastasis is the most insidious aspect of cancer progression. Convincing data suggest that microRNAs (miRs) play a key function in colon cancer biology. We examined the role of miR-340-5p in regulating RhoA expression as well as cell migration and invasion in colon cancer cells. Levels of miR-340-5p and RhoA mRNA varied inversely in serum-free and serum-grown HT-29 and AZ-97 colon cancer cells. It was found transfection with miR-340-5p not only decreased expression of RhoA mRNA and protein levels in HT-29 cells but also reduced colon cancer cell migration and invasion. Bioinformatics analysis predicted one putative binding sites at the 3′-UTR of RhoA mRNA. Targeting this binding site with a specific blocker reversed mimic miR-340-5p-induced inhibition of RhoA activation and colon cancer cell migration and invasion. These novel results suggest that miR-340-5p is an important regulator of colon cancer cell motility via targeting of RhoA and further experiments are warranted to evaluate the role of miR-340-5p in colon cancer metastasis.
Highlights
Colon cancer is the third most common cancer and a significant cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide
This study demonstrates that miR-340-5p negatively regulates colon cancer cell migration and invasion by targeting RhoA
By use of a specific target blocker we identified the specific binding site of miR-340-5p on RhoA mRNA
Summary
Colon cancer is the third most common cancer and a significant cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Bioinformatics analysis predicted one putative binding sites at the 3′-UTR of RhoA mRNA Targeting this binding site with a specific blocker reversed mimic miR-340-5p-induced inhibition of RhoA activation and colon cancer cell migration and invasion. These novel results suggest that miR-340-5p is an important regulator of colon cancer cell motility via targeting of RhoA and further experiments are warranted to evaluate the role of miR-340-5p in colon cancer metastasis. An increasing number of studies have demonstrated aberrant miRNAs expression in cancers and that miRNAs regulate important function in cancer progression, including cell adhesion, migration, invasion, proliferation and apoptosis by targeting specific oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes[8]. Context, it is interesting to note that miR-340-5p has been found to target RhoA in squamous and non-small cell lung carcinoma as well as m elanocytes[17,18,19] the interaction between miR340 and RhoA in colon cancer cells remains elusive
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