miR-31-3p functions as a tumor suppressor by directly targeting GABBR2 in prostate cancer

Sujin Choi; Soonchul Lee; Young-Hoon Han; Junwon Choi; Isaac Kim; Jusung Lee; Hyun-Ju An

doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.945057

miR-31-3p functions as a tumor suppressor by directly targeting GABBR2 in prostate cancer

Front Oncol. 2022 Aug 18:12:945057. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.945057. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Sujin Choi¹, Soonchul Lee¹, Young-Hoon Han², Junwon Choi³, Isaac Kim⁴, Jusung Lee¹, Hyun-Ju An¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Pangyo-ro, South Korea.
² Division of Radiation Cancer Research, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, South Korea.
³ Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Yeongtong-gu, South Korea.
⁴ Department of General Surgery, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Pangyo-ro, South Korea.

Abstract

MicroRNAs are key regulators of gene expression in tumorigenesis. In this study, we investigated the tumor-suppressive function of miR-31-3p. Analysis of the Gene Expression Omnibus database revealed that the expression of miR-31-3p in prostate cancer tissues is lower than that in adjacent normal tissues from patients with prostate cancer. Moreover, miR-31-3p induces apoptosis in DU145, PC-3, and LNCap prostate cancer cells, while those transfected with miR-31-3p exhibit significantly decreased cell proliferation, migration, invasiveness, and tumor sphere-forming ability, as determined using the cell counting kit-8, transwell, and sphere-forming assays. Further analysis revealed that GABBR2 is a direct target of miR-31-3p. Within a DU145 xenograft murine model, intratumoral injection of a miR-31-3p mimic suppresses tumor growth. Taken together, the findings of this study suggest that miR-31-3p performs a novel tumor-suppressive function in prostate cancer and may represent a novel target for anti-prostate cancer miRNA therapeutics.

Keywords: GABBR2; miR-31-3p; miRNA; prostate cancer; tumor suppressor gene.