Published online Aug 7, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i29.4542
Peer-review started: May 6, 2023
First decision: May 17, 2023
Revised: May 24, 2023
Accepted: July 5, 2023
Article in press: July 5, 2023
Published online: August 7, 2023
Processing time: 87 Days and 17.7 Hours
Gastric carcinoma (GC) is the third most frequent cause of cancer-related death, highlighting the pressing need for novel clinical treatment options. In this regard, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy. Studies have shown that miRNAs can regulate related signaling pathways, acting as tumor suppressors or tumor promoters.
To explore the effect of miR-204-3p on GC cells.
We measured the expression levels of miR-204-3p in GC cells using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, followed by the delivery of miR-204-3p overexpression and miR-204-3p knockdown vectors into GC cells. CCK-8 was used to detect the effect of miR-204-3p on the proliferation of GC cells, and the colony formation ability of GC cells was detected by the clonal formation assay. The effects of miR-204-3p on GC cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry. The BABL/c nude mouse subcutaneous tumor model using MKN-45 cells was constructed to verify the effect of miR-204-3p on the tumorigenicity of GC cells. Furthermore, the study investigated the effects of miR-204-3p on various proteins related to the MAPK signaling pathway, necroptosis signaling pathway and apoptosis signaling pathway on GC cells using Western blot techniques.
Firstly, we found that the expression of miR-204-3p in GC was low. When treated with the lentivirus overexpression vector, miR-204-3p expression significantly increased, but the lentivirus knockout vector had no significant effect on miR-204-3p. In vitro experiments confirmed that miR-204-3p overexpression inhibited GC cell viability, promoted cell apoptosis, blocked the cell cycle, and inhibited colony formation ability. In vivo animal experiments confirmed that miR-204-3p overexpression inhibited subcutaneous tumorigenesis ability in BABL/c nude mice. Simultaneously, our results verified that miR-204-3p overexpression can inhibit GC cell proliferation by inhibiting protein expression levels of KRAS and p-ERK1/2 in the MAPK pathway, as well as inhibiting protein expression levels of p-RIP1 and p-MLK1 in the necroptosis pathway to promote the BCL-2/BAX/Caspase-3 apoptosis pathway.
MiR-204-3p overexpression inhibited GC cell proliferation by inhibiting the MAPK pathway and necroptosis pathway to promote apoptosis of GC cells. Thus, miR-204-3p may represent a new potential therapeutic target for GC.
Core Tip: Gastric carcinoma (GC) is a global health problem that seriously endangers human life; therefore, it is important to identify effective treatment targets. In this regard, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy. Studies have shown that miRNAs regulated signaling pathways, acting as tumor suppressors or tumor promoters. In this study, we first verified the inhibitory effect of miR-204-3p overexpression on GC cells through in vitro and in vivo experiments. Simultaneously, miR-204-3p overexpression induced GC cell apoptosis by inhibiting the MAPK pathway and the necroptosis pathway. Thus, miR-204-3p may represent a new potential therapeutic target for GC.