title: miR-181a mediates metabolic shift in colon cancer cells via the PTEN/AKT pathway.
abstract: Cancer cell metabolism is often characterized by a shift from an oxidative to a glycolytic bioenergetics pathway, a phenomenon known as the warburg effect. Whether the deregulation of miRNAs contributes to the warburg effect remains largely unknown. Here we show that miR-181a expression is increased and thus induces a metabolic shift in colon cancer cells. miR-181a performs this function by inhibiting the expression of PTEN, leading to an increase of phosphorylated AKT which triggers metabolic shift. The increase of lactate production induced by miR-181a results in the rapid growth of cancer cells. These results identify miR-181a as a molecular switch involved in the orchestration of the warburg effect in colon cancer cells via the PTEN/AKT pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, China.
authors.forename: Zhonghua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China.
authors.forename: Zubing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, China; Department of Colorectal Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China; Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Cell Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 280 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: hooray365@163.com.
authors.forename: Daoxiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D049109:Cell Proliferation; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D045325:HCT116 Cells; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000502:physiology*; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D034622:RNA Interference; D015398:Signal Transduction; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: C540193:MIrn181 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D019344:Lactic Acid; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; C494929:PTEN protein, human
keywords: Glycolysis; PTEN; miR-181a