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Interference with the β-catenin gene in gastric cancer induces changes to the miRNA expression profile

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

Aberrant activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a major role in carcinogenesis and the progression of many malignant tumors, especially gastric cancer (GC). Some research has suggested that expression of the β-catenin protein is associated with clinicopathologic factors and affects the biological behaviors of GC cells. However, the mechanism of these effects is not yet clear. Studies show that the Wnt/β-catenin pathway regulates some miRNAs. We hypothesize that oncogenic activation of β-catenin signaling is involved in the formation of GC through regulating certain microRNAs (miRNAs). The results of the current study demonstrate that expression of the β-catenin protein is associated with many clinicopathologic characteristics including the degree of differentiation, depth of tumor invasion, tumor site, and 5-year survival rate. We found that silencing the expression of β-catenin with lentiviruses could delay cell proliferation, promote apoptosis, weaken the invasive power of GC cells, and increase the sensitivity of GC cells to 5-fluorouracil in vitro. Using miRNA microarrays to detect changes in the miRNA transcriptome following interference with β-catenin in GC cells, we found that miR-1234-3p, miR-135b-5p, miR-210, and miR-4739 were commonly upregulated and that miR-20a-3p, miR-23b-5p, miR-335-3p, miR-423-5p, and miR-455-3p were commonly downregulated. These data provide a theoretical basis for the potential interaction between miRNA and the β-catenin signaling pathway in GC.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was supported by the JiangXi Province Talent 555 Project and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 81160281 and 81441083).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China

      Li Dong, Jun Deng, Ze-Min Sun, An-Ping Pan, Xiao-Jun Xiang, Ling Zhang, Feng Yu, Jun Chen, Zhe Sun, Miao Feng & Jian-Ping Xiong

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    1. Li Dong
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    Correspondence to Jian-Ping Xiong.

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    Li Dong and Jun Deng contributed equally to this work.

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    Dong, L., Deng, J., Sun, ZM. et al. Interference with the β-catenin gene in gastric cancer induces changes to the miRNA expression profile. Tumor Biol. 36, 6973–6983 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3415-1

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3415-1

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