Objective: To investigate the regulatory mechanism of miR-204 on proliferation, apoptosis and autophagy of cervical cancer cells. Methods: The expression of miR-204 in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines was detected by real-time PCR. Cell viability and apoptosis were detected by MTT and flow cytometry, respectively. Protein expression of Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-3 and LC3I/II in C33A cells after transfection was detected by Western blot assay. The interaction between miR-204 and ATF2 was verified by Targetscan online prediction, dual-luciferase assay and Western blot. Results: The expression of miR-204 was significantly down-regulated in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines (p < .05). Cell viability was suppressed while apoptosis was enhanced in C33A cells transfected with miR-204. In addition, overexpression of miR-204 reduced protein expression of Bcl-2 and LC3I/II and elevated protein expression of Bax and Caspase-3 in C33A cells (p < .05). The results of Targetscan online prediction, dual-luciferase assay and Western blot indicted that miR-204 could regulate the expression of ATF2. Cell viability was increased (p < .05) and the expression of ATF2 and LC3I/II was down-regulated (p < .05) in C33A cells after silencing of ATF2. Ectopic expression of ATF2 could restore miR-204 mediated inhibition on proliferation of C33A cells. Conclusions: miR-204 could inhibit proliferation and autophagy and induce apoptosis of cervical cancer cells by targeting ATF2, representing promising target for cervical cancer treatment.
Keywords: Cervical cancer; activating transcription factor 2; apoptosis; autophagy; miR-204.