title: Exploring MicroRNA Expression Profiles Related to the mTOR Signaling Pathway in Mouse Embryonic Fibroblast Cells Treated with Polyethylenimine.
abstract: Although the toxicology of poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) in gene expression levels has been previously investigated, little is known about the effects of PEI on the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. In this study, we explored miRNA expression profiles related to cell death mechanisms in mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells treated with PEI by applying microarray analysis. Based on the analysis of the mTOR signaling pathway, three upregulated miRNAs (mmu-miR-3090-5p, mmu-miR-346-3p, and mmu-miR-494-3p) were verified in MEF cells treated with PEI at 24 h using real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. We further demonstrated that these three upregulated miRNAs resulted in the decrease of gene and protein expressions of the target gene growth factor Igf1 in MEF cells treated with PEI or transfected with three upregulated miRNA mimics. However, these three upregulated miRNAs are not all cell-specific. Finally, we demonstrated that the mTOR signaling pathway is inhibited by autophagy induction and that the cell viability decreases in MEF cells treated with PEI or transfected with these three miRNA mimics. Collectively, our data suggested that PEI may affect the regulation of miRNAs in target cells.
authors.forename: Chia-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ming-Shiou
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Jan
authors.affiliation: §Department of Pharmacy, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, 60 Erh-Jen Road, Section 1, Jen-Te, Tainan 717, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jung-Hua Steven
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kuo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D018827:Carcinoma, Lewis Lung / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011094:Polyethyleneimine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D035683:MicroRNAs; D011094:Polyethyleneimine; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
keywords: Igf1; autophagy; mTOR signaling pathway; microRNAs (miRNAs); microarray; p53 signaling pathway; polyethylenimine (PEI)