Mir-138-5p acts as a tumor suppressor by targeting pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 in human retinoblastoma

Z. Wang, Y.-J. Yao, F. Zheng, Z. Guan, L. Zhang, N. Dong, W.-J. Qin

Department of Ophthalmology, Fuzhou Second Hospital, Fujian, China. wangzhfz@126.com

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• Oncology

OBJECTIVE: MicroRNAs have caught more attention for their role in tumor progression. Retinoblastoma (RB) is one of these ordinary malignant tumors. This study aims to identify whether mir-138-5p can regulate the development of RB, and find out its potential mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mir-138-5p expression in RB cells was monitored by RT-qPCR. Besides, the role of mir-138-5p in RB development was explored through function experiments in vitro. The potential mechanism was further explored by RT-qPCR, luciferase assay, and Western blot assay.

RESULTS: In our investigation, mir-138-5p was lower-expressed in RB cells than that in retinal pigment epithelial cells. Moreover, overexpression of mir-138-5p repressed cell viability, migration and invasion, and induced apoptosis of RB cells, while downregulated mir-138-5p increased cell viability, migration and invasion, and reduced apoptosis of RB cells. Furthermore, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1) could be downregulated via overexpression of mir-138-5p, while PDK1 was upregulated via knockdown of mir-138-5p.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that mir-138-5p could repress the development of RB via suppressing PDK1, which may offer a new vision for interpreting the mechanism of RB tumorigenesis.

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