miR-204-5p acts as a tumor suppressor by targeting matrix metalloproteinases-9 and B-cell lymphoma-2 in malignant melanoma

Abstract

Wenkang Luan,1,* Yao Qian,2,* Xin Ni,3,* Xuefeng Bu,4 Yun Xia,1 Jinlong Wang,1 Hongru Ruan,1 Shaojun Ma,1 Bin Xu1 1Department of Plastic Surgery, 2Department of Neurosurgery, 3Department of Gastroenterology, 4Department of General Surgery, Affiliated People’s Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: An increasing number of microRNAs have been found to be involved in tumorigenesis, including melanoma tumorigenesis. miR-204-5p is down-regulated and functions as a tumor suppressor in many human malignant tumors. miR-204-5p expression is also decreased in melanoma tissues, but its biological roles and molecular mechanisms in malignant melanoma remain unclear. In this study, the aberrant down-regulation of miR-204-5p was detected in melanoma, especially in metastatic melanoma. miR-204-5p also served as a protective factor for the prognosis of melanoma patients. We determined that miR-204-5p suppresses cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and promotes cell apoptosis in melanoma. Matrix metalloproteinases-9 and B-cell lymphoma-2 are the functional targets of miR-204-5p, through which it plays an important biological role in malignant melanoma. The effect of miR-204-5p on malignant melanoma is verified using a xenograft model. We also determined that miR-204-5p increases 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin (DDP) chemosensitivity in malignant melanoma cells. This finding elucidates new functions and mechanisms for miR-204-5p in melanoma development, and provides potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of melanoma. Keywords: miR-204-5p, MMP9, BCL2, melanoma, cell apoptosis, migration, invasion

Keywords

• miR-204-5p
• MMP9
• BCL2
• melanoma
• cell apoptosis
• migration and invasion.