The effect of microRNA-449 on the proliferation and apoptosis in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To investigate the microRNA (miRNA, miR)-449 expression level and significance in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Meanwhile, to explore the influence of miR-449 in the thyroid papillary carcinoma TPC1 cell. Methods Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-449 in papillary thyroid carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues. Cell counting assay kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to analyze the influence of miR-449 in the proliferation of TPC1. Flow cyometry was used to analyze the influence of miR-449 in the apoptosis of TPC1. Results The relative expression levels of miR-449 in PTC tissues (0.665 5±0.049 8) were significantly(P=0.002) lower than those in adjacent non-tumor tissues (1.405 0±0.079 4). More importantly, the expression levels of miR-449 were significantly associated with the higher clinical stage (P=0.036). The results of CCK-8 proliferation assay showed that cell proliferation rate was reduced in miR-449 transfected cells compared with the negative control (NC) and scrambled RNA-transfected cells (P=0.000). In the flow cytometry analysis, it was found that the apoptosis rate of miR-449 transfected cells [(15.13±0.52)%] was significantly increased (P=0.009). Conclusion MiR-449 function as a tumor suppressor miRNA in PTC, indicating that miR-449 could act as an important role in the molecular pathomechanism of PTC. Meanwhile, these results could provide some novel clues for the individual precision medicine. Key words: Papillary thyroid carcinoma; MicroRNA-449; Apoptosis