title: microRNA-141 is involved in a nasopharyngeal carcinoma-related genes network.
abstract: microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs and have been implicated in the pathology of various diseases, including cancer. Here we report that the miRNA profiles have been changed after knockdown of one of the most important oncogene c-MYC or re-expression of a candidate tumor suppressor gene SPLUNC1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells. Both c-MYC knockdown and SPLUNC1 re-expression can down-regulate microRNA-141 (miR-141). miR-141 is up-regulated in NPC specimens in comparison with normal nasopharyngeal epithelium. Inhibition of miR-141 could affect cell cycle, apoptosis, cell growth, migration and invasion in NPC cells. We found that BRD3, UBAP1 and PTEN are potential targets of miR-141, which had been confirmed following luciferase reporter assays and western blotting. BRD3 and UBAP1 are both involved in NPC carcinogenesis as confirmed through our previous studies and PTEN is a crucial tumor suppressor in many tumor types. BRD3 is involved in the regulation of the Rb/E2F pathway. Inhibition of miR-141 could affect some important molecules in the Rb/E2F, JNK2 and AKT pathways. It is well known that carcinogenesis of NPC is involved in the networks of genetic and epigenetic alteration events. We propose that miR-141- and tumor-related genes c-MYC, SPLUNC1, BRD3, UBAP1 and PTEN may constitute a gene-miRNA network to contribute to NPC development.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410078, China.
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Tan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Xiayu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Huaying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Houde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Minghua
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Shourong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Xiaoling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhaoxia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Wenling
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Jianhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hailin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Guiyuan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D002453:Cell Cycle; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000502:physiology*; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009857:Oncogenes; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase / Q000502:physiology; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000502:physiology; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000092468:Bromodomain Containing Proteins
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C485599:BPIFA1 protein, human; C109106:BRD3 protein, human; D000092468:Bromodomain Containing Proteins; C533895:MIRN141 microRNA, human; C489427:MYC protein, human; C469867:UBAP1 protein, human; C494929:PTEN protein, human