Evidence for miR-17-92 and miR-134 gene cluster regulation of ovarian cancer drug resistance

H. Zhu, S.-Y. Yang, J. Wang, L. Wang, S.-Y. Han

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Forth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, P. R. China. hsy0451@126.com

---

• Oncology

OBJECTIVE: Ovarian cancer treatments are often impeded by drug resistance. It has been proposed that microRNA (miRNA) expression patterns may play a role in drug resistance among ovarian cancers. The present study investigated the relationship between resistance to the cancer drug paclitaxel and miRNA expression.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared the expression patterns of miRNA genes in paclitaxel-sensitive (SKOV3) and paclitaxel-resistant (SKOV3-TR30) cell lines.

RESULTS: Expression of the miR-134 gene cluster was found to be significantly lower in the paclitaxel-resistant cell line than in the paclitaxel-sensitive cell line, while the expression of the miR-17-92 gene cluster was significantly higher in the paclitaxel-resistant cells. An analysis of miRNA target gene protein expression revealed that several targets of miR-17-92 were significantly altered between the two cell types.

CONCLUSIONS: The higher expression of miR-17-92 and lower expression of mi-134 and the associated alterations of target gene expression may be associated with the drug-resistant nature of some ovarian cancers.

Free PDF Download