Prostate cancer is a leading cause of tumor mortality. To characterize the underlying molecular mechanisms, we have compared the microRNA (miRNA) profile of primary prostate cancers and noncancer ...prostate tissues using deep sequencing. MiRNAs are small noncoding RNAs of 21 to 25 nucleotides that regulate gene expression through the inhibition of protein synthesis. We find that 33 miRNAs were upregulated or downregulated >1.5-fold. The deregulation of selected miRNAs was confirmed by both Northern blotting and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR in established prostate cancer cell lines and clinical tissue samples. A computational search indicated the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of the mRNA for myosin VI (MYO6) as a potential target for both miR-143 and miR-145, the expression of which was reduced in the tumor tissues. Upregulation of myosin VI in prostate cancer was previously shown by immunohistochemistry. The level of MYO6 mRNA was significantly induced in all primary tumor tissues compared with the nontumor tissue from the same patient. This finding was matched to the upregulation of myosin VI in established prostate cancer cell lines. In luciferase reporter analysis, we find a significant negative regulatory effect on the MYO6 3'UTR by both miR-143 and miR-145. Mutation of the potential binding sites for miR-143 and miR-145 in the MYO6 3'UTR resulted in a loss of responsiveness to the corresponding miRNA. Our data indicate that miR-143 and miR-145 are involved in the regulation of MYO6 expression and possibly in the development of prostate cancer.
Abstract
Background: Prostate cancer is a leading cause of tumor mortality. In order to identify and characterize the underlying molecular mechanisms, we performed microRNA (miRNA) profiling of ...primary prostate cancers and non-cancer prostate tissue. Furthermore, using database analysis, we sought to identify regulatory targets of aberrantly expressed miRNAs.
Material and Methods: We performed comparative miRNA expression profiling in ten prostate cancer specimens and ten non-cancer prostate tissue samples using deep sequencing of cDNA libraries. The deregulation of selected miRNAs was validated in established prostate cancer cell lines by Northern blotting as well as in 26 paired samples of prostate cancer tissue and adjacent normal tissue by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The regulative capabilities of selected miRNAs on potential target genes were analyzed in vitro using reporter gene constructs and transfection of miRNA expression vectors
Results: Using deep sequencing we found that 16 miRNAs were up-regulated more than 1.5-fold and 17 miRNAs were down regulated more than 1.5-fold. The most pronounced deregulation was noted for miRNAs miR-375 and miR-200c which showed an up-regulation of more than 4.5-fold and miR-143 and miR-145 which were down regulated 4-fold each. The differential expression of these miRNAs could be confirmed by Northern blot analysis of established prostate cancer cell lines. By analyzing 26 primary prostate cancer samples by qRT-PCR we could detect a significant deregulation of the miRNAs miR-375, miR-143 and miR-145 (p<0.05, paired students T-test). Independent target prediction databases (TargetScan, PicTar) indicate, that the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) of the Myosin VI gene is a regulative target for both miR-143 and miR-145. This prediction could be confirmed using a luciferase reporter gene vector containing the Myosin VI 3′UTR. Furthermore, transient expression of miR-143 and miR-145 reduced the amount of Myosin VI protein by 20% and 48% respectively.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that specific miRNAs are reproducibly found to be deregulated in different cohorts of prostate cancer specimens using independent experimental methods. This is the first report to show that miRNAs miR-143 and miR-145 are capable of negatively regulating the protein expression of Myosin VI.
Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} abstract. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4036.