Abstract.It is well known that microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in cancer development by targeting oncogenes or tumor-suppressor genes. However, little is known regarding the mechanisms of miR-30c action in endometrial cancer. In this study, we aimed to determine whether miR-30c targets metastasis-associated gene-1 (MTA1) and acts as a tumor suppressor in endometrial cancer cell lines Ishikawa (estrogen receptor-positive, ER + ) and HEC-1-B (ER -) by down-regulating MTA1. As a result, in both Ishikawa and HEC-1-B cells, realtime PCR demonstrated that overexpression of miR-30c led to the down-regulation of MTA1 mRNA (P<0.05), while Western blotting confirmed the reduced expression levels of MTA1 protein (P<0.01). A dual-luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that miR-30c was directly bound to the 3'-untranslated regions of MTA1. Then we studied the biological mechanisms of endometrial cancer cells transfected with the Pre-miR-30c plasmid. MTT assay and growth curves revealed that miR-30c inhibits both Ishikawa and HEC-1-B cell proliferation. However, we did not see obvious differences in rates of apoptosis between miR30c-overexpressing and the negative control cells. Then using wound-healing and Matrigel invasion assays, we found that the migratory and invasive abilities of cells transfected with the Pre-miR-30c plasmid were significantly suppressed compared with the control cells (P<0.01). Overall, our study, for the first time, showed that MTA1 is negatively regulated by miR-30c and that overexpression of miR-30c inhibits the proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities of endometrial cancer cells. These results suggest that miR-30c acts as a tumor suppressor and negatively regulates endometrial cancer cells by targeting MTA1.
IntroductionEndometrial carcinoma is a common worldwide gynecologic malignancy. Two different clinicopathological subtypes of endometrial cancer are recognized: one is estrogen-related type 1 (endometroid), and the other is non-estrogen-related type 2 (non-endometroid such as papillary serous and clear cell) (1). Although various endocrine, genetic and external factors, such as unopposed estrogen exposure, complex hyperplasia with atypia, and treatment with tamoxifen during breast cancer therapy, may contribute to its initiation and progression, the etiology of endometrial carcinoma remains not fully understood (2). The primary and most effective treatment for patients with localized disease is still hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (3). Although adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy may reduce local recurrence and systemic metastases, the associated toxicity and morbidity are significant (4). Thus, the search for novel molecular targets as therapeutic agents through an increased understanding of the molecular mechanisms of endometrial tumorigenesis is in urgent need. microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of conserved short (19-25 nt) RNAs that regulate gene expression through basepairing with the 3'-untranslated regions (3'-UTR) of target mRNAs (5) and play an importa...