MicroRNA-223 promotes mast cell apoptosis by targeting the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor.
The present study aimed to examine the functional role of miR-223 in the regulation of mast cell apoptosis. Overexpressed miR-223 in mast cells transfected by Lipofectamine 2000 was used as a model, and miR-223 was found to promote mast cell apoptosis. To investigate the underlying mechanisms involved, the potential and putative target molecules of miR-223 were detected by bioinformatical analysis using predictive software, and western blotting. Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) was found to be the functional target of miR-223 in the promotion of cell apoptosis. The downstream PI3K/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway was also inhibited, and signaling was mediated by IGF-1R. Furthermore, the relative luciferase activity of the reporter containing the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of IGF-1R was significantly suppressed, while suppression of miR-223-inhibited IGF-1R protein expression was also observed. In conclusion, the results suggest that IGF-1R is the functional target for miR-223 promotion of cell apoptosis, and its downstream PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was suppressed by miR-223 through targeting of IGF-1R.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China; Department of Pediatrics, Huai'an First People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, Jiangsu 223300, P.R. China.
Haiyan
H
Gao
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China.
Huan
H
Deng
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China.
Hong
H
Xu
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China.
Qianyuan
Q
Yang
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China.
Yao
Y
Zhou
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China.
Jiamin
J
Zhang
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China.
Deyu
D
Zhao
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China.
Feng
F
Liu
apoptosis; insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor; mast cell; microRNA-223