MiR-146a induces apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells by targeting BCL11A. (August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Sheng-Hua; Li, Jin-Pin; Chen, Lan; Liu, Jing-Li
• Is Part Of: Medical hypotheses. Volume 117(2018)
• Page Start: 21
• Page End: 27
• Publication Date: 2018-08
• Subjects: miR-146a -- BCL11A -- Neuroblastoma -- Apoptosis; Medicine -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine -- Périodiques; Medicine; Periodicals; 610
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.05.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-9877

Abstract

Abstract: Aberrant expression of miR-146a has been reported to be involved in the progression and metastasis of various types of human cancers; however, its potential role in human neuroblastoma is still poorly understood. The purpose of our study was to investigate the molecular mechanism and possible role of miR-146a in human neuroblastoma. In this study, targeted genes were predicted by bioinformatic analysis and confirmed by dual-Luciferase reporter assay. The expression level of miR-146a in the human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cell line was detected by quantitative RT-PCR. We used flow cytometric analysis to determine apoptosis and necrosis of SK-N-SH cells after transfection with miR-146a inhibitor, miR-146a mimic, and negative controls. The expression level of target genes was detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting. We identified BCL11A as a target of miR-146a. Thus, miR-146a targets the 3′UTR of BCL11A and inhibits its mRNA and protein expression. Overexpression of miR-146a can inhibit the growth and promote the apoptosis of human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells through inhibiting the expression of BCL11A. Furthermore, we found that upregulation of BCL11A by miR-146a inhibitor can promote SK-N-SH cells growth and protect SK-N-SH cells against apoptosis. Our results showed that miR-146a is a potential tumor suppressor gene in human neuroblastoma via directly targeting BCL11A. These findings suggest that miR-146a might be a new candidate target for treatment of human neuroblastoma.