We study whether microRNA miR-30a inhibits the autophagy through transforming growth factor (TGF)-β/Smad4 to generate cisplatin (DDP) resistance in ovarian cancer cells. The expression of miR-30a, Smad4, and TGF-β was detected in the serum of ovarian cancer patients and DDP-resistant cell lines (A2780) by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Computational search and western blotting were used to demonstrate the downstream target of miR-30a in ovarian cancer cells. Cell viability was measured with CCK8 assay. Apoptosis and autophagy of ovarian cancer cells were analyzed by flow cytometry and transmission electron microscopy, and the expressions of Beclin1 and LC3II protein were detected by western blotting. Expression of miR-30a was significantly decreased, while expressions of TGF-β and Smad4 mRNA were increased in serum of ovarian cancer patients after DDP chemotherapy as well as in DDP-resistant cells. Activation of autophagy contributed to DDP-resistance cells. Moreover, Bioinformatics software predicted Smad4 to be a target of miR-30a. Overexpression of miR-30a decreased the expression of Smad4 and TGF-β. Additionally, miR-30a-overexpressing inhibited DDP-induce autophagy and promoted DDP-resistant cell apoptosis. In conclusion, miR-30a mediates DDP resistance in ovarian cancer by inhibiting autophagy via the TGF-β/Smad4 pathway.

PurposeHepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most predominant malignancies with high fatality rate and its incidence is rising at an alarming rate because of its resistance to radio- and chemotherapy. Indirubin is the major active anti-tumor ingredient of a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The present study aimed to analyze the effects of indirubin on cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis of tumor-derived endothelial cells (Td-EC).MethodsTd-EC were derived from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) by treating HUVEC with the conditioned medium of human liver cancer cell line HepG2. Cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis were assessed by MTT, wound healing, in vitro cell invasion, and in vitro tube formation assay.ResultsTd-EC were successfully obtained from HUVEC cultured with 50% culture supernatant from serum-starved HepG2 cells. Indirubin significantly inhibited Td-EC proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Indirubin also inhibited Td-EC migration, invasion, and angiogenesis. However, indirubin’s effects were weaker on HUVEC than Td-EC.ConclusionIndirubin significantly inhibited Td-EC proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis.

Background. Long intergenic nonprotein coding RNA 1503 (LINC01503) was reportedly oncogenic in several malignancies, whereas whether it contributed to pancreatic cancer tumorigenesis and progression requires to be verified. Methods. The expression pattern of LINC01503 was monitored via qRT-PCR assay in normal cells and cancerous pancreatic cancer cells. The introduction of silencing LINC01503 was to verify the relation between LINC01503 expression and cell growth. Then, the targeting relationship of LINC01503 to miR-1321 was confirmed by bioinformatics predication and luciferase reporter assay. In addition, luciferase reporter assays evaluated the binding of miR-1321 to the 3 ′ -untranslated region of KLK4. Overexpressing KLK4 and inhibiting LINC01503 was introduced in tumor cells to investigate the corresponding impacts on pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and migration. Results. LINC01503 and KLK4 were highly abundant in pancreatic cancer cells. Mechanistically, miR-1321 bound to LINC01503 and KLK4. Downregulating LINC01503 promoted the availability of miR-1321 in pancreatic cancer cells and thus repressed KLK4 expression. KLK4 overexpression abolished the impediment of LINC01503 depletion on cell proliferation and migration. Conclusion. Oncogenic function of LINC01503 was dependent on KLK4 upregulation by sponging miR-1321. Revealing the tumor-promoting property of LINC01503 in pancreatic cancer may confer new biomarkers for this malignancy.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma is one of the most predominant malignancies with high fatality rate and is rising at an alarming rate because it is quite resistant to radio-