Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Inhibition of microRNA-383 promotes apoptosis of human colon cancer cells by upregulation of caspase-2 gene expression

Jianfeng Gu^1,2, Wei Fu³, Yang Zong², Qiao Chen², Xiaojin Zhang², Jianqing Meng², Haixin Qian¹

¹Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006; ²Department of General Surgery, Changshu No. 1 People's Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Changshu, 215500; ³Department of Oncology, Changshu No. 1 People's Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Changshu, 215500, Jiangsu, China.

For correspondence:- Haixin Qian Email: HLanettelahey@yahoo.com Tel:+8651265223637

Accepted: 24 October 2017 Published: 31 January 2018

Citation: Gu J, Fu W, Zong Y, Chen Q, Zhang X, Meng J, et al. Inhibition of microRNA-383 promotes apoptosis of human colon cancer cells by upregulation of caspase-2 gene expression. Trop J Pharm Res 2018; 17(1):11-16 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v17i1.2

© 2018 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate microRNA-383 (miR-383) as a therapeutic target for the management of colon cancer.

Methods: Total RNA was isolated using RNeasy RNA isolation kit according to the manufacturer’s instructions. cDNA was synthesized using RevertAid cDNA synthesis kit. expression analysis was carried out by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Cell proliferation was examined using CellTiter 96 AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay system, while apoptosis was detected by 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and annexin V/PI double staining followed by flow cytometry. The miR-383 target was delimited using TargetScan software. Protein expression analysis was carried out by western blotting.

Results: The results indicate that miR-383 was highly expressed in colon cancer cells. Down-regulation of miR-383 inhibited cancer cell proliferation, and promoted apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, in silico analysis revealed caspase-2 gene to be the downstream target of miR-383, a finding that was further confirmed by western blotting.

Conclusion: The results reveal that miR-383 may be an important target to tackle the increasing incidence of colon cancer. Thus, drugs that target miR-383 and inhibit its expression can potentially be developed for the treatment of colon cancer

Keywords: MicroRNA, Colon cancer, Cell proliferation, Apoptosis, Protein expression