Cancer Management and Research (Apr 2019)

MicroRNA-17 promotes cell proliferation and migration in human colorectal cancer by downregulating SIK1

  • Huang C,
  • Liu J,
  • Xu L,
  • Hu W,
  • Wang J,
  • Wang M,
  • Yao X

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 11
pp. 3521 – 3534

Abstract

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Chengzhi Huang,1,2 Jianhua Liu,3 Lishu Xu,4 Weixian Hu,1,5 Junjiang Wang,1,5 Muqing Wang,1,6 Xueqing Yao1–2,5–61Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Medical College, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Gastroenterology Oncology, Cancer Center, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Gastroenterology, Guangdong Provincial Geriatrics Institute, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 5The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 6School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaPurpose: There is mounting evidence to indicate that microRNA-17 (miR-17) is expressed and functionally involved in human cancers. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the role of miR-17 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unclear. This study aims to reveal the biological function of miR-17 in colorectal cancer.Materials and methods: The expression of miR-17 in CRC cells and tissues was examined using qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation and migration assays were performed after transfection with an miR-17 mimic and inhibitors. The potential gene targets of miR-17 were predicted by bioinformatics analysis and further validated by PCR, Western blot and dual luciferase reporter assays.Results: The expression of miR-17 was significantly upregulated in CRC cell lines and tissues and may imply poor prognosis. miR-17 upregulation promoted cell invasion and migration in CRC cell lines in vitro, while downregulation of miR-17 inhibited tumor progression. SIK1 was identified as a potential direct target of miR-17 by dual luciferase reporter assay, and its downregulation in CRC may suggest poor prognosis.Conclusions: Our study indicated that upregulated miR-17 may promote the progression of CRC and may exert its function as a tumor suppressor miRNA by targeting SIK1.Keywords: SIK1, colorectal cancer, prognosis, tumor biomarker

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