Insight into the effects of microRNA‑23a‑3p on pancreatic cancer and its underlying molecular mechanism

Chao,Jiadeng; Jin,Lei; Zhang,Xudong; Ding,Dong; Wu,Siyuan; Ma,Le; Zhu,Bei; Shan,Shiting; Yun,Xiao; Gao,Peng; Li,Jun; Zhu,Chunfu; Qin,Xihu

doi:10.3892/ol.2019.11117

Insight into the effects of microRNA‑23a‑3p on pancreatic cancer and its underlying molecular mechanism

Authors:
- Jiadeng Chao
- Lei Jin
- Xudong Zhang
- Dong Ding
- Siyuan Wu
- Le Ma
- Bei Zhu
- Shiting Shan
- Xiao Yun
- Peng Gao
- Jun Li
- Chunfu Zhu
- Xihu Qin
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Affiliations: Department of Pancreatopathy, Pancreas Center of Changzhou Clinical College, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003, P.R. China
Published online on: November 19, 2019 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2019.11117
Pages: 187-194
Copyright: © Chao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that microRNA (miR)‑23a‑3p plays a role as an oncogene that is involved in several different types of carcinoma. However, few studies investigated the association between miR‑23a‑3p and pancreatic cancer (PC). The aim of the present study was to elucidate the biological functions of miR‑23a‑3p in PC and to investigate its underlying molecular mechanisms. The expression of miR‑23a‑3p in PC and adjacent normal tissues was investigated using microarrays. In order to validate the outcomes of the microarray results, reverse transcription‑quantitative (RT‑q)PCR was used to determine the expression levels of miR‑23a‑3p in PC tissues and cell lines. Furthermore, functional analyses were conducted following miR‑23a‑3p inhibition and overexpression, in order to assess the proliferation, invasion and migration of PC cells. Bioinformatics analysis indicated transforming growth factor‑β receptor type II (TGFBR2) as a potential direct target of miR‑23a‑3p. Western blotting was performed in order to determine the protein expression of TGFBR2 in PC cell lines. The findings from the microarray demonstrated upregulation of miR‑23a‑3p in PC compared with normal tissues. RT‑qPCR revealed significantly higher levels of miR‑23a‑3p expression in PC compared with normal control tissues or cells. Furthermore, miR‑23a‑3p was demonstrated to promote the proliferation, invasion and migration of PC cells, which was suppressed by the inhibition of miR‑23a‑3p. In addition, the miR‑23a‑3p expression level was negatively associated with TGFBR2 expression. Overall, the present study demonstrated the tumor‑promoting effects of miR‑23a‑3p in PC cells. Furthermore, miR‑23a‑3p is a potential oncogenic regulator of PC, by targeting TGFBR2, and a biomarker or target for molecular therapy.

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