Abstract
Purpose: :
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~22 nucleotide non-coding RNAs, which are endogenously expressed and inhibit protein translation through binding to target mRNAs. Recent studies have demonstrated that miRNAs played important roles in tumorigenesis. The role of miRNAs in uveal melanoma, however, remains largely unclear. In the present study, we investigated the function and regulation of microRNA-127 (miR-127) in uveal melanoma cells.
Methods: :
Realtime RT-PCR was performed to detect the expression of miR-127 in uveal melanoma cells. Uveal melanoma cells were transfected with miR-127 by liperfectamine 2000. The proliferation of uveal melanoma cells was quantified by MTS assay. Cell cycle and apoptosis was examined by flow cytometry and caspase3/7 assay, respectively. The expression of cell cycle related proteins was analyzed by Western blotting.
Results: :
miR-127 was downregulated in uveal melanoma cells and its expression was upregulated after treatment with epigenetic drugs. Introduction of miR-127 into uveal melanoma cells led to a significant decrease in cell growth. miR-127 inhibited cell proliferation by blocking cell cycle in G1 phase rather than stimulating apoptosis. miR-127 was found to downregulate the expression of cell cycle related proteins by Western blot analysis.
Conclusions: :
Our results demonstrated that miR-127 may act as a tumor suppressor in uveal melanoma cell proliferation.
Keywords: gene/expression • melanoma • proliferation