title: Downregulation of miR-21 modulates Ras expression to promote apoptosis and suppress invasion of Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: MiRNAs are small, noncoding RNA molecules that emerge as important regulators of cancer-related processes. The miR-21 microRNA is overexpressed in a wide variety of cancers and has been causally related to cellular proliferation and apoptosis. In this study, we found that miR-21 is overexpressed in Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and correlated with advanced stage. Inhibition of miR-21 by antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) led to decreased protein level of Ras and profound suppression of cell proliferation and invasion. Hep-2 cells exposed to miR-21 ASO exhibited cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and increased apoptosis. Furthermore, growth of LSCC xenograft tumours was significantly suppressed by repeated injection of ASO-miR-21 lentivirus and the Ras protein expression in LSCC xenograft tumours was also downregulate by ASO-miR-21. Taken together, our data suggest that miR-21 may play an oncogenic role in the cellular processes of LSCC and represent a novel target for effective therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.
authors.forename: Jingyuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yanan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Linli
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000503:physiopathology; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: C524940:MIRN21 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)