Abstract
microRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in cancer development and progression. This study investigated the effects of miR-138-5p in human colorectal cancer (CRC) development. miR-138-5p was frequently downregulated in CRC tissues and was associated with advanced clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and poor overall survival. We found that miR-138-5p decreased expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) through interaction with its PD-L1 3′ untranslated region. miR-138-5p also dramatically suppressed CRC cell growth in vitro and inhibited tumorigenesis in vivo. PD-L1 and miR-138-5p levels were inversely correlated in human CRC tumors, and miR-138-5p inhibited PD-L1 expression in tumor models. These results suggest that miR-138-5p is a tumor suppressor in CRC, and its effects are exerted at least partially through PD-L1 downregulation. Low miR-138-5p and high PD-L1 levels correlated with shorter overall CRC patient survival, indicating that miR-138-5p and PD-L1 may serve as CRC biomarkers for risk group assignment, optimal therapy selection and clinical outcome prediction. Targeting PD-L1, possibly by administering miR-138-5p mimics, might be a clinically effective anti-CRC therapeutic strategy.
Highlights
colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world and is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in Western countries [1]
This study investigated the effects of miR-138-5p in human colorectal cancer (CRC) development. miR-138-5p was frequently downregulated in CRC tissues and was associated with advanced clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and poor overall survival
We found that miR-138-5p decreased expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) through interaction with its PD-L1 3′ untranslated region. miR-1385p dramatically suppressed CRC cell growth in vitro and inhibited tumorigenesis in vivo
Summary
CRC is one of the most common malignancies in the world and is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in Western countries [1]. Alterations in miRNA expression have been observed in CRC, and several dysregulated miRNAs, including miR-625-3p [8], miR-99-5b [9], miR-361-5p [10], miR-17-5p [11], miR-137 [12], miR-95 [13], miR23a [14, 15], miR-155 [16], miR-150 [17], miR-191[18], miR-339-5p [19], miR-429 [20], miR-345 [21], miR-22 [22], miR-638 [23] and miR-138 [24], have been shown to regulate CRC cell growth, apoptosis and metastasis. We found that miR-138-5p markedly suppressed CRC cell growth in vitro and inhibited tumorigenesis in vivo by targeting PD-L1; miR-138-5p expression was inversely correlated with that of PD-L1 in CRC. Low miR-138-5p expression was associated with advanced clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and poor overall patient survival, and high PD-L1 expression correlated with decreased overall patient survival
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