TY - JOUR AB - microRNAs are a small class of non-coding RNAs with a critical role in the tumorigenesis and maintenance of breast cancer through binding to the 3'‑untranslated regions of target mRNAs, which causes a block of translation and/or mRNA degradation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of microRNA-497 (miR-497) as well as its potential role in human breast cancer. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to determine the expression pattern of miR-497 in breast cancer and normal breast tissues. Correlation analysis was conducted to characterize the association of miR-497 expression abnormality with pathological factors. Proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis assays were conducted to explore the potential function of miR-497 in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were employed to validate the downstream targets of miR-497. miR-497 expression was relatively decreased in breast cancer specimens and negatively correlated with TNM stage, lymphatic metastasis, tumor size and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (P<0.01). On the contrary, no correlation was found with estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and p53 status. Functional assays revealed that miR-497 suppressed cellular growth, increased the percentage of early apoptotic cells and initiated G0/G1 cell phase arrest of MCF-7 cancer cells. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis data indicated that the overexpression of miR-497 resulted in the down‑regulation of Bcl-w at the mRNA and protein levels. miR-497 may serve as a tumor suppressor gene in breast cancer. The Up-regulation of miR-497 expression causes cellular growth inhibition and apoptotic enhancement, as well as G0/G1 phase arrest, suggesting its use as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of breast cancer in the future. AD - Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai 200072, P.R. China Department of General Surgery, Ningbo First Hospital, College of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China Department of General Surgery, Ningbo Second Hospital, College of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China AU - Shen,Lei AU - Li,Jia AU - Xu,Liping AU - Ma,Jie AU - Li,Hua AU - Xiao,Xigang AU - Zhao,Junyong AU - Fang,Lin DA - 2012/03/01 DO - 10.3892/etm.2011.428 EP - 480 IS - 3 JO - Exp Ther Med KW - breast cancer microRNA-497 Bcl-w cell proliferation cell apoptosis PY - 2012 SN - 1792-0981 1792-1015 SP - 475 ST - miR-497 induces apoptosis of breast cancer cells by targeting Bcl-w T2 - Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine TI - miR-497 induces apoptosis of breast cancer cells by targeting Bcl-w UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2011.428 VL - 3 ER -