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miR-106a suppresses tumor cells death in colorectal cancer through targeting ATG7

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Abstract

Autophagy-related gene 7 (ATG7) and miR-106a play an important role in cancer cell autophagy and apoptosis, but the outcome of ATG7 and miR-106a in colorectal cancer (CRC) still remains not clear. In this study, we found that ATG7 and miR-106a expression were mutually related with cell death and prognosis in CRC patients. In addition, we also showed that ATG7 and miR-106a expression were changeable in colorectal cancer cell lines when compared with normal cell lines, but ATG7 and miR-106a mRNA level was negatively correlated. Furthermore, ATG7 protein and mRNA levels decreased after over-expression of miR-106a, whereas the suppression of ATG7 had the opposite effect. We confirmed that miR-106a down-regulated ATG7 mRNA level by binding the specific sequence of ATG7 mRNA 3′UTR region. Moreover, the over-expression of ATG7 induced CRC cells death both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our study data demonstrated that ATG7 aggravated the cell death of CRC, which was inhibited by miR-106a.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of General Surgery, Medical College of Nanchang University, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No. 461 Bayi Road, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, China

      Haibin Hao, Guangfeng Xia, Chao Wang, Fuping Zhong, Laipeng Liu & Dong Zhang

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    1. Haibin Hao
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    2. Guangfeng Xia
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    3. Chao Wang
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    4. Fuping Zhong
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    5. Laipeng Liu
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    6. Dong Zhang
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    Correspondence to Haibin Hao.

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    The study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of our institution that conforming to the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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    Haibin Hao, Guangfeng Xia, and Chao Wang contributed equally to this work.

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    Hao, H., Xia, G., Wang, C. et al. miR-106a suppresses tumor cells death in colorectal cancer through targeting ATG7. Med Mol Morphol 50, 76–85 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-016-0150-7

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