MiR-138 Acts as a Tumor Suppressor by Targeting EZH2 and Enhances Cisplatin-Induced Apoptosis in Osteosarcoma Cells

PLoS One. 2016 Mar 28;11(3):e0150026. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150026. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Chemotherapeutic insensitivity remains a major obstacle to treating osteosarcoma effectively. Recently, increasing evidence has suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in drug resistance. However, the effect of miR-138 on cisplatin chemoresistance in osteosarcoma has not been reported. We used real-time PCR to detect the expression of mature miR-138 in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. Cell proliferation, invasion, and migration assays were used to observe changes to the osteosarcoma malignant phenotype. MiR-138 was downregulated in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines, and miR-138 overexpression negatively regulated osteosarcoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. We also verified that EZH2 is a direct target of miR-138. Furthermore, enhancing EZH2 expression reduced the inhibitory effects of miR-138 on osteosarcoma. Proliferation, apoptosis assays and caspase-3 activity assay confirmed that elevated miR-138 expression enhanced osteosarcoma cell chemosensitivity to cisplatin by targeting EZH2. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that miR-138 acts as a tumor suppressor by enhancing osteosarcoma cell chemosensitivity and supports its potential application for treating osteosarcoma in the future.

MeSH terms

  • 3' Untranslated Regions
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Base Sequence
  • Bone Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Bone Neoplasms / pathology
  • Bone and Bones / metabolism
  • Bone and Bones / pathology
  • Caspase 3 / metabolism
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Cisplatin / toxicity
  • Down-Regulation
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein
  • Humans
  • MicroRNAs / chemistry
  • MicroRNAs / genetics
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism*
  • Osteosarcoma / genetics*
  • Osteosarcoma / pathology
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 / genetics
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 / metabolism*
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Alignment

Substances

  • 3' Untranslated Regions
  • MIRN138 microRNA, human
  • MicroRNAs
  • EZH2 protein, human
  • Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein
  • Polycomb Repressive Complex 2
  • Caspase 3
  • Cisplatin

Grants and funding

The authors have no support or funding to report.