miR-17 as a diagnostic biomarker regulates cell proliferation in breast cancer

Abstract

Fangliang Yang,1,2 Yuan Li,1 Lingyun Xu,1 Yulan Zhu,1 Haiyan Gao,1 Lin Zhen,1 Lin Fang2 1Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Changzhou No 2 People’s Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, 2Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Shanghai No 10 People’s Hospital, Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be involved in the initiation and progression of cancers in the literature. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological role of miR-17 in breast cancer. Materials and methods: The expression of miR-17 was measured in 132 breast cancer tissues and paired adjacent normal tissues by using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The association between miR-17 expression levels and clinicopathological parameters was also analyzed. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and flow cytometry assays were used to investigate the role of miR-17 in the regulation of breast cancer cells. Results: The expression of miR-17 was remarkably increased in breast cancer tissues and cell lines. Clinical association analysis revealed that a high expression of miR-17 was prominently associated with poor survival time in breast cancer. Overexpression of miR-17 promoted cell proliferation and induced tumor growth. Conclusion: Our findings clarified that the upregulation of miR-17 played a vital role in breast cancer progression and suggested that miR-17 could be used as a prognostic biomarker for breast cancer. Keywords: miR-17, breast cancer, biomarker, cell proliferation

Keywords

• miR-17
• breast cancer
• biomarker
• cell proliferation