Autophagy plays an important role in maintaining cell function. Abnormal autophagy leads to cell dysfunction and is associated with many diseases such as tumors, immunodeficiency diseases, lysosomal storage disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. Autophagy is precisely regulated, and PTEN plays an important role in regulating autophagy. As noncoding small RNAs, miRNAs play an important role in the fine regulation of cellular processes. However, the mechanism of the miRNA regulation of PTEN-related autophagy has not been fully elucidated. In this study, our results showed that miR-4465 significantly inhibited the expression of PTEN, upregulated phosphorylated AKT, and thereby inhibited autophagy by activating mTOR in HEK293, HeLa, and SH-SY5Y cells. Further studies indicated that miR-4465 reduced PTEN mRNA levels through posttranscriptional regulation via directly targeting the 3'-UTR. Our novel findings provide useful hints for the comprehensive elucidation of the molecular mechanism of miRNA-regulated PTEN-related autophagy and may also provide some new insights for the exploration of miRNAs in the treatment of PTEN-related diseases.
Keywords: Autophagy; PTEN; mTOR; miR-4465.