The rescue of miR-148a expression in pancreatic cancer: an inappropriate therapeutic tool

PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e55513. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055513. Epub 2013 Jan 31.

Abstract

MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that physiologically modulate proteins expression, and regulate numerous cellular mechanisms. Alteration of microRNA expression has been described in cancer and is associated to tumor initiation and progression. The microRNA 148a (miR-148a) is frequently down-regulated in cancer. We previously demonstrated that its down-regulation by DNA hypermethylation is an early event in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) carcinogenesis, suggesting a tumor suppressive function. Here, we investigate the potential role of miR-148a over-expression in PDAC as a therapeutic tool. We first report the consequences of miR-148a over-expression in PDAC cell lines. We demonstrate that miR-148a over-expression has no dramatic effect on cell proliferation and cell chemo-sensitivity in four well described PDAC cell lines. We also investigate the modulation of protein expression by a global proteomic approach (2D-DIGE). We show that despite its massive over-expression, miR-148a weakly modulates protein expression, thus preventing the identification of protein targets in PDAC cell lines. More importantly, in vivo data demonstrate that modulating miR-148a expression either in the epithelia tumor cells and/or in the tumor microenvironment does not impede tumor growth. Taken together, we demonstrate herein that miR-148a does not impact PDAC proliferation both in vitro and in vivo thus suggesting a weak potential as a therapeutic tool.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / pharmacology
  • Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / genetics*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Deoxycytidine / analogs & derivatives
  • Deoxycytidine / pharmacology
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / genetics
  • Gemcitabine
  • Gene Expression*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / therapy
  • Proteome
  • Proteomics
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic
  • MIRN148 microRNA, human
  • MicroRNAs
  • Proteome
  • Deoxycytidine
  • Gemcitabine

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the Institut National de la Santée et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM, www.inserm.fr) and the Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (ARC, www.arc-cancer.net). Proteomics studies were supported by the Toulouse Proteomics Infrastructure with financial support of «Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer» (ARC- ARECA Program). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.