Open Access

ARTICLE

MicroRNA-15a Inhibits Proliferation and Induces Apoptosis in CNE1 Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells

Kang Zhu^*, Ying He^†, Cui Xia^*, Jing Yan^*, Jin Hou^*, Demin Kong^*, Yeye Yang^*, Guoxi Zheng^*

* Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
† Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

Oncology Research 2016, 24(3), 145-151. https://doi.org/10.3727/096504016X14611963142290

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a highly metastatic cancer, frequently occurring in Southeast Asia and Southern China. Several microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to have an inhibitive effect on NPC, while the effect of miR-15a on NPC remains unclear. Thus, our study aimed to investigate the potential effect of miR-15a on NPC cell proliferation, apoptosis, and possible functional mechanism. Human NPC CNE1 cells were transfected with miR-15a mimics, miR-15a inhibitors, or a control. Afterward, cell viability and apoptosis were assayed by using CCK-8, BrdU assay, and flow cytometry. Moreover, Western blot was used to detect the expression changes of proliferation and apoptosis of related proteins. As a result, miR-15a overexpression significantly reduced cell proliferation (p<0.01 or p<0.001) and induced cell apoptosis (p<0.001), while miR- 15a suppression got the opposite result for cell proliferation and apoptosis. In addition, miR-15a overexpression upregulated the protein levels of p27, GSK-3β, Bax, procaspase 3, and active caspase 3, whereas miR-15a suppression downregulated these proteins. The protein level of p21 was not significantly regulated by miR-15a overexpression or suppression. These results indicated that miR-15a played a role for inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in CNE1 cells.

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