TY - EJOU AU - Hu, Chunya AU - He, Yu TI - Formononetin Inhibits Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Proliferation via Regulation of mir-27a-3p through p53 Pathway T2 - Oncologie PY - 2021 VL - 23 IS - 2 SN - 1765-2839 AB - Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-tumor effects of formononetin on human nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its potential molecular mechanism. Methods: A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of formononetin, then detected the cell proliferation, apoptosis and the expression of HIPK2 respectively by MTT assay, flow cytometry analysis and RT-qPCR. Then the interaction between miR- 27a-3p and its target gene HIPK2 was verified through luciferase reporter assay. The expression of miR-27a- 3p, HIPK2, and p53 was detected after being treated with different formononetin concentrations by RT-qPCR and western blot. Results: The results showed that formononetin significantly inhibited the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of A549 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. miR-27a-3p targeted HIPK2 3’UTR and inhibited the expression of HIPK2. Also, formononetin-treated A549 cells were remarked with a significant decline in the expression of miR-27a-3p, accompanied with growth of HIPK2, and subsequently a reduction of p53. Conclusions: The study indicates that miR-27a-3p might pose regulated effects on the HIPK2/p53 pathway, resulting in formononetin’s anti-carcinogenic effects on NSCLC in vitro. KW - Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); formononetin; miRNA; anti-cancer; p53 pathway DO - 10.32604/Oncologie.2021.015828