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ABSTRACT: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) act as transcriptional regulators and play pivotal roles in carcinogenesis. According to miRNA target databases, one miRNA may regulate many genes as its targets, while one gene may be targeted by many miRNAs. These findings indicate that relationships between miRNAs and their targets may not be one-to-one. However, many reports have described only a one-to-one, one-to-multiple or multiple-to-one relationship between miRNA and its target gene in human cancers. Thus, it is necessary to determine whether or not a combination of some miRNAs would regulate multiple targets and be involved in carcinogenesis. To find some groups of miRNAs that may synergistically regulate their targets in human gastric cancer (GC), we re-analyzed our previous miRNA expression array data and found that 50 miRNAs were up-regulated on treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine in a GC cell line. The "TargetScan" miRNA target database predicted that some of these miRNAs have common target genes. We also referred to the GEO database for expression of these common target genes in human GCs, which might be related to gastric carcinogenesis. In this study, we analyzed two miRNA combinations, miR-224 and -452, and miR-181c and -340. Over-expression of both miRNA combinations dramatically down-regulated their target genes, DPYSL2 and KRAS, and KRAS and MECP2, respectively. These miRNA combinations synergistically decreased cell proliferation upon transfection. Furthermore, we revealed that these miRNAs were down-regulated through promoter hypermethylation in GC cells. Thus, it is likely that the relationships between miRNAs and their targets are not one-to-one but multiple-to-multiple in GCs, and that these complex relationships may be related to gastric carcinogenesis.
PLoS ONE 01/2013; 8(5):e62589. · 4.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Ectopic expression of CDX2, a caudal-related homeobox protein, is known to be associated with the development of intestinal metaplasia in the stomach and gastric carcinogenesis. Previously, we reported that DNA methylation was partly responsible for CDX2 silencing in gastric cancer (GC). However, the mechanism underlying the aberrant expression of CDX2 during malignant transformation remained unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that function as post-transcriptional regulators. To elucidate the role of miRNAs in CDX2 downregulation in GC cells, putative miRNAs, such as miR-9, were computationally predicted. After exogenous pre-miR-9 precursor transfection, the luciferase activity of a reporter vector containing a part of the 3'-UTR of CDX2 was downregulated in HEK-293T cells. The inverse correlation between the miR-9 and CDX2 protein levels was demonstrated in GC cell lines. By means of miR-9 overexpression and knockdown techniques, the expression levels of the CDX2 protein and downstream target genes (p21, MUC2 and TFF3) were responsively altered in MKN45 and NUGC-3 cells. Transfection of an anti-miR-9 molecule significantly inhibited cell growth by promoting G(1) cell cycle arrest in MKN45 cells similarly to the effect of CDX2 overexpression. Moreover, examination of the miR-9 levels in primary GC tissues revealed that the amounts of miR-9 in the CDX2-negative group were significantly higher than those in the CDX2-positive group (p = 0.004). Therefore, miR-9 might repress CDX2 expression via the binding site in the 3'-UTR, resulting in the promotion of cell proliferation in GCs.
International Journal of Cancer 01/2011; 129(11):2611-20. · 5.44 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: SRY (sex-determining region Y)-box 2 (SOX2) is a crucial transcription factor for the maintenance of embryonic stem cell pluripotency and the determination of cell fate. Previously, we demonstrated that SOX2 plays important roles in growth inhibition through cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and that SOX2 expression is frequently down-regulated in gastric cancers. However, the mechanisms underlying loss of SOX2 expression and its target genes involved in gastric carcinogenesis remain largely unknown. Here, we assessed whether microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate SOX2 expression in gastric cancers. Furthermore, we attempted to find downstream target genes of SOX2 contributing to gastric carcinogenesis.
We performed in silico analysis and focused on miRNA-126 (miR-126) as a potential SOX2 regulator. Gain- and loss-of function experiments and luciferase assays revealed that miR-126 inhibited SOX2 expression by targeting two binding sites in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of SOX2 mRNA in multiple cell lines. In addition, miR-126 was highly expressed in some cultured and primary gastric cancer cells with low SOX2 protein levels. Furthermore, exogenous miR-126 over-expression as well as siRNA-mediated knockdown of SOX2 significantly enhanced the anchorage-dependent and -independent growth of gastric cancer cell lines. We next performed microarray analysis after SOX2 over-expression in a gastric cancer cell line, and found that expression of the placenta-specific 1 (PLAC1) gene was significantly down-regulated by SOX2 over-expression. siRNA- and miR-126-mediated SOX2 knockdown experiments revealed that miR-126 positively regulated PLAC1 expression through suppression of SOX2 expression in gastric cancer cells.
Taken together, our results indicate that miR-126 is a novel miRNA that targets SOX2, and PLAC1 may be a novel downstream target gene of SOX2 in gastric cancer cells. These findings suggest that aberrant over-expression of miR-126 and consequent SOX2 down-regulation may contribute to gastric carcinogenesis.
PLoS ONE 01/2011; 6(1):e16617. · 4.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Aberrant expression of microRNA (miRNA) has been reported in various cancers. To clarify the role of miRNA in gastric carcinogenesis, we performed miRNA microarray analysis and investigated expression changes of miRNAs in a 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR)-treated gastric cancer cell line, KATO-III. On microarray analysis, five miRNAs were found to be upregulated (>3-fold) after 5-aza-CdR treatment compared with untreated cells. Among them, miR-181c and miR-432AS exhibited CpG islands in their upstream sequences on computational analysis, and their upregulation was verified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses. In particular, miR-181c upregulation was found not only in KATO-III but also in two other gastric and one colorectal cancer cell line with 5-aza-CdR treatment. Decreased expression of miR-181c was observed in 9 of 16 primary gastric carcinoma (GC) cases compared with the corresponding non-cancerous stomach tissues. Hypermethylation signals in the upstream region of miR-181c were observed in some cultured and primary GC cells with negative or low miR-181c expression. Transfection of the precursor miR-181c molecule induced decreased growth of two gastric cancer cell lines, KATO-III and MKN45. As for targets of miR-181c, oncogenic NOTCH4 and KRAS were identified by complementary DNA microarray analysis after precursor miR-181c molecule transfection, computational searches of miRNA target databases and reporter assaying using the 3'-untranslated regions of the two genes. These results indicate that miR-181c may be silenced through methylation and play important roles in gastric carcinogenesis through its target genes, such as NOTCH4 and KRAS.
Carcinogenesis 05/2010; 31(5):777-84. · 5.70 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To clarify the role of micro (mi) RNAs in gastric carcinogenesis, we studied the expression and function of miRNAs in gastric carcinoma (GC) cells. Initially, we performed microarray analysis using total RNA from 3 human GC cell lines and noncancerous gastric tissue. Among the downregulated miRNAs in GC cells, miR-212 expression was decreased in all 8 GC cell lines examined and a significant decrease of miR-212 expression in human primary GC tissues was also observed in 6 of 11 cases. Transfection of the precursor miR-212 molecule induced decreased growth of 3 GC cell lines. Using 3 different databases, methyl-CpG-binding protein MeCP2 was postulated to be a target of miR-212. As seen on reporter assaying, miR-212 repressed the construct with the MECP2 3'-UTR. Ectopic expression of miR-212 repressed expression of the MeCP2 protein but not the MECP2 mRNA level. These data suggest that downregulation of miR-212 may be related to gastric carcinogenesis through its target genes, such as MECP2.
International Journal of Cancer 12/2009; 127(5):1106-14. · 5.44 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Epigenetic silencing of genes by aberrant DNA methylation is recognized as a crucial component of the mechanism underlying tumorigenesis. However, the relationship between DNA methylation and the past lifestyle in cancer patients remains largely unknown. We examined the methylation statuses of 6 tumor-related genes, CDX2 (homeobox transcription factor), BMP-2 (bone morphogenetic protein 2), p16 (INK4A), CACNA2D3 (calcium channel-related), GATA-5 (transcription factor) and ER (estrogen receptor), in 106 primary gastric carcinomas by methylation-specific PCR and compared them with the past lifestyles of the patients. The methylation frequencies of the genes were 23.6, 21.7, 9.4, 32.4, 40.8 and 59.1%, respectively. Significant association was found between a decreased intake of green tea and methylation of CDX2 and BMP-2. More physical activity was correlated with a lower methylation frequency of CACNA2D3. Of these 6 genes, the methylation statuses of CDX2, BMP-2 and p16 revealed a significant interrelationship and those of CACNA2D3, GATA-5 and ER did likewise. Thus, some epidemiological factors, such as green tea intake, could be important as to determination of the methylation statuses of selected genes and may influence the development of cancer, including that of the stomach.
International Journal of Cancer 01/2009; 124(11):2677-82. · 5.44 Impact Factor
