Alterations of microRNAs and their targets are associated with acquired resistance of MCF-7 breast cancer cells to cisplatin

Int J Cancer. 2010 Oct 15;127(8):1785-94. doi: 10.1002/ijc.25191.

Abstract

Cancer cells that develop resistance to chemotherapeutic agents are a major clinical obstacle in the successful treatment of breast cancer. Acquired cancer chemoresistance is a multifactorial phenomenon, involving various mechanisms and processes. Recent studies suggest that chemoresistance may be linked to drug-induced dysregulation of microRNA function. Furthermore, mounting evidence indicates the existence of similarities between drug-resistant and metastatic cancer cells in terms of resistance to apoptosis and enhanced invasiveness. We studied the role of miRNA alterations in the acquisition of cisplatin-resistant phenotype in MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells. We identified a total of 103 miRNAs that were overexpressed or underexpressed (46 upregulated and 57 downregulated) in MCF-7 cells resistant to cisplatin. These differentially expressed miRNAs are involved in the control of cell signaling, cell survival, DNA methylation and invasiveness. The most significantly dysregulated miRNAs were miR-146a, miR-10a, miR-221/222, miR-345, miR-200b and miR-200c. Furthermore, we demonstrated that miR-345 and miR-7 target the human multidrug resistance-associated protein 1. These results suggest that dysregulated miRNA expression may underlie the abnormal functioning of critical cellular processes associated with the cisplatin-resistant phenotype.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Blotting, Western
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cisplatin / pharmacology*
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Humans
  • Luciferases / metabolism
  • MicroRNAs / physiology*
  • Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins / genetics
  • Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins / metabolism
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • MicroRNAs
  • Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Luciferases
  • Cisplatin
  • multidrug resistance-associated protein 1