| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Priority Reports |
1 Ordway Research Institute, 2 Department of Pathology, Albany Medical College, and 3 Human Toxicology and Molecular Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York
Requests for reprints: Graham J. Brock, Ordway Research Institute, 150 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208. Phone: 518-641-6487; E-mail: gbrock{at}ordwayresearch.org.
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
22-nucleotide sequences thought to interact with multiple mRNAs resulting in either translational repression or degradation. We previously reported that several microRNAs had variable expression in mammalian cell lines, and we examined one, miR-200c, in more detail. A combination of bioinformatics and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR was used to identify potential targets and revealed that the zinc finger transcription factor transcription factor 8 (TCF8; also termed ZEB1,
EF1, Nil-2-
) had inversely proportional expression levels to miR-200c. Knockout experiments using anti-microRNA oligonucleotides increased TCF8 levels but with nonspecific effects. Therefore, to investigate target predictions, we overexpressed miR-200c in select cells lines. Ordinarily, the expression level of miR-200c in non–small-cell lung cancer A549 cells is low in contrast to normal human bronchial epithelial cells. Stable overexpression of miR-200c in A549 cells results in a loss of TCF8, an increase in expression of its regulatory target, E-cadherin, and altered cell morphology. In MCF7 (estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer) cells, there is endogenous expression of miR-200c and E-cadherin but TCF8 is absent. Conversely, MDA-MB-231 (estrogen receptor–negative) cells lack detectable miR-200c and E-cadherin (the latter reportedly due to promoter region methylation) but express TCF8. The ectopic expression of miR-200c in this cell line also reduced levels of TCF8, restored E-cadherin expression, and altered cell morphology. Because the down-regulation of E-cadherin is a crucial event in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, loss of miR-200c expression could play a significant role in the initiation of an invasive phenotype, and, equally, miR-200c overexpression holds potential for its reversal. [Cancer Res 2007;67(17):7972–6] | Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
22-nucleotide (nt) microRNAs of which there are thought to be several hundred expressed at varying levels and in a tissue-specific manner. In eukaryotes, initial expression is in the form of nascent pri-microRNA transcripts, generated by polymerase II and capped and polyadenylated (4). These are processed into
70-nt pre-microRNAs by the Drosha RNase III endonuclease (5) and transported from the nucleus by Ran-GTP/exportin-5 (6). The pre-microRNAs are then processed by Dicer into the final
22-nt noncoding single-stranded mature microRNAs that regulate gene expression (5). Regulation involves the incorporation of mature microRNAs into the RNA-induced silencing complex and target recognition based on perfect (or almost perfect) complementarity to the mRNA, with the result being either cleavage or transcriptional repression (7, 8). The function of the majority of microRNAs is currently unknown, with identification of many (mRNA) targets being predicted through computational means (9). Such algorithms have to account for the majority of animal microRNAs (unlike plant microRNAs) lacking a perfect pairing to their targets, and predictions may alter following experimental investigation (9). In addition, computational predictions of microRNA/mRNA interactions do not include the outcome (i.e., translational repression or cleavage). Experiments involving transfection of reporter constructs have indicated that, in mammals, the outcome is often translational repression. However, it has recently been reported that transfected microRNAs can also regulate the mRNA levels of a large number of targets (10). To examine these predicted interactions in an endogenous manner, we initially adopted a technique to allow for the quantitation of both microRNA and mRNA from the same sample (11). This experimental approach reasoned that if the interaction between the microRNA and its target mRNA resulted in degradation, then an inverse relationship would be observed in expression levels. The variably expressed microRNA hsa-miR-200c was studied further and, by using a combination of bioinformatic and mRNA array data,
600 predicted targets were reduced to 20. Quantitaive PCR analysis then identified three mRNAs with expression levels inversely related to miR-200c (11). The remaining candidate targets had no inverse relationship or were expressed below detection level, and thus may be bona fide targets in other cells, tissues, or stages of development. This study suggested that the vast majority of miR-200c targets are translationally repressed; however, the lack of any consensus may also indicate overprediction by in silico methods. Further examination of predicted targets using an anti-microRNA oligonucleotide against miR-200c did restore expression to transcription factor 8 (TCF8; also termed ZEB1,
EF1, Nil-2-
; ref. 11). However, we observed nonspecific effects using the anti-microRNA oligonucleotide and, in addition, the repression of miR-200c expression was transient (11). Therefore, to gain a better understanding of the function of miR-200c, we used a retroviral expression system (12) for its overexpression in A549 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. | Materials and Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
500-bp product, directionally cloned into pLNCX (Clontech Labs, Inc.) using NotI and XhoI, and transformed using E. cloni 10G Chemically Competent cells (Lucigen). Clones were sequenced to confirm correct orientation of miR-200c in relation to the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter and Maxipreps (Qiagen) prepared to generate enough DNA (
10 µg) to mix with Phoenix packaging cells (Orbigene, Inc.). After 48 h, the supernatant from the Phoenix cells was used to infect A549 or MDA-MB-231 cells, followed by selection for resistance to G418. Total RNA was extracted with Trizol (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's recommended procedures after 3, 7, and 21 days and quality was determined at 260/280 nm with a spectrophotometer (Nanodrop Technologies).
Modification and amplification of mature microRNAs and mRNA. The mRNA and mature microRNAs were amplified as previously described (11) and outlined in Fig. 1B
. Relative expression was calculated using an ABI HT7900 system with fluorescent Syber Green real-time PCR used to generate Ct values in triplicate. Changes in the expression levels of mRNA and microRNA, relative to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), were calculated as 2–
Ct and graphed as shown in Figs. 2
and 3
.
|
|
|
100 µL of each sample (105 cells) were placed into the appropriate wells of the cytospin. Lids of the cytospin were placed over the samples and spun at maximum speed for 1 to 3 min. Filters were removed without contacting the smears on the slides. Slides were then examined under the microscope to be sure that the cells had annealed properly. All slides were dried in a desiccation chamber overnight. Cytospin slides were immunostained with mouse monoclonal antibodies for E-cadherin (DAKO; 1:100) using an automated method (Ventana Medical Systems).
| Results and Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
. This is reported to inhibit expression of the T lymphocyte–specific interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene by binding to a negative regulatory domain 100 nt 5' of transcription start site (16). A second study reported that TCF8 or
EF1 is a transcriptional repressor of E-cadherin and regulates epithelial plasticity in breast cancer cells (17). Finally, it has also been shown that the zinc finger transcriptional repressor ZEB1 (TCF8) inhibits E-cadherin expression by recruiting histone deacetylases (18). We therefore examined both E-cadherin and IL-2 levels in MCF7, A549, and MDA-MB-231 cells and found strong expression of both in MCF7 (data not shown) with little expression in A549 and none detectable in MDA-MB-231. The overexpression of miR-200c in both A549 and MDA-MB-231 initially has little or no effect on E-cadherin or IL-2 expression. However, after 1 week and following the reduction in TCF8, increased E-cadherin expression is evident in A549 and pronounced in MDA-MB-231 cells (Fig. 3A and B). The level of IL-2 does increase in both altered cell lines after 3-week overexpression of miR-200c, but the increase is not significant (data not shown). The expression levels of E-cadherin continue to increase in an inverse relationship to TCF8 in both cell lines (Fig. 3). After 3 weeks of expression of miR-200c in MDA-MB-231 and A549, the cells begin to detach from the plates and die. However, there is no evidence that cell death is directly caused by overexpression of miR-200c. Therefore, at the mRNA level, E-cadherin expression is directly related to miR-200c and inversely related to TCF8. At the protein level, examples of E-cadherin expression in A549 and MDA-MB-231 cells expressing miR-200c are shown in Fig. 4
. The cytospin of A549 cells shows a distinct staining for E-cadherin at the cell boundaries (Fig. 4A). In Fig. 4B, cell morphology was preserved and those cells expressing E-cadherin appear rounder and seem to form more cell-to-cell junctions in comparison with the controls. Thus, at both the mRNA and protein levels, expression of E-cadherin has apparently been restored. The restoration of expression proceeds several days after reduction in TCF8 levels (Figs. 3 and 4) although the promoter region (at least in MDA-MB-231) is reportedly methylated. One potential explanation is in previous reports that TCF8 recruits a histone deacetylase (18), and its loss over several cycles of cell division could give rise to the specific demethylation or loss of heterochromatin in the promoter region of E-cadherin. Further investigation of epigenetic changes and a detailed investigation of the effects on the proteome in these cell lines are warranted. However, these results do indicate that the mRNA level of the transcription factor TCF8 can be regulated by miR-200c, which in turn will alter levels of both E-cadherin and, to a lesser extent, IL-2. Endogenously, the expression levels of miR-200c are highly variable across several cell lines (11) but a preliminary examination of the genomic region flanking pri-miR-200c revealed no large-scale deletions or single-nucleotide polymorphisms (data not shown). The promoter region may lie outside the examined area or the regulation of these microRNA could be mediated by trans-acting factor(s). The potential therefore exists for the specific restoration of E-cadherin (and IL-2) by the identification of specific molecules that could up-regulate the expression of miR-200c. Whereas the examination of microRNA expression remains a technically challenging problem, its potential effect is underscored by recent reports showing that changes in microRNA expression might be used to classify cancers (19). Our study indicates that a single microRNA can indirectly regulate at least one important cellular pathway that includes alteration of E-cadherin expression levels. Whereas this work represents preliminary findings in vitro, further studies are required to assess the implications of such findings in vivo. The potential effect of the reported large-scale microRNA changes, and by extension, of the alteration to mRNA and protein targets, presents a daunting prospect from a therapeutic viewpoint. However, this study and previous work indicate that the miR-200c degrades only a small number of its predicted targets, the question remains how many of the remaining target predictions are translationally regulated by miR-200c. Cell lines generated using this method present a model system for a proteomic analysis and will enable unaffected targets to be identified, which may improve the ability of algorithms to predict targets.
|
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
Received 3/20/07. Revised 6/12/07. Accepted 7/ 3/07.
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
EF1 is a transcriptional repressor of E-cadherin and regulates epithelial plasticity in breast cancer cells. Oncogene 2005;24:2375–85.[CrossRef][Medline]This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
Y. Wang, R. Rathinam, A. Walch, and S. K. Alahari ST14 (Suppression of Tumorigenicity 14) Gene Is a Target for miR-27b, and the Inhibitory Effect of ST14 on Cell Growth Is Independent of miR-27b Regulation J. Biol. Chem., August 21, 2009; 284(34): 23094 - 23106. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. Adam, M. Zhong, W. Choi, W. Qi, M. Nicoloso, A. Arora, G. Calin, H. Wang, A. Siefker-Radtke, D. McConkey, et al. miR-200 Expression Regulates Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Bladder Cancer Cells and Reverses Resistance to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Therapy Clin. Cancer Res., August 15, 2009; 15(16): 5060 - 5072. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Kato, L. Arce, and R. Natarajan MicroRNAs and Their Role in Progressive Kidney Diseases Clin. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., July 1, 2009; 4(7): 1255 - 1266. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. S. Wickramasinghe, T. T. Manavalan, S. M. Dougherty, K. A. Riggs, Y. Li, and C. M. Klinge Estradiol downregulates miR-21 expression and increases miR-21 target gene expression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells Nucleic Acids Res., May 1, 2009; 37(8): 2584 - 2595. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S M Khoshnaw, A R Green, D G Powe, and I O Ellis MicroRNA involvement in the pathogenesis and management of breast cancer J. Clin. Pathol., May 1, 2009; 62(5): 422 - 428. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D. R. Cochrane, N. S. Spoelstra, E. N. Howe, S. K. Nordeen, and J. K. Richer MicroRNA-200c mitigates invasiveness and restores sensitivity to microtubule-targeting chemotherapeutic agents Mol. Cancer Ther., May 1, 2009; 8(5): 1055 - 1066. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. M. Drake, G. Strohbehn, T. B. Bair, J. G. Moreland, and M. D. Henry ZEB1 Enhances Transendothelial Migration and Represses the Epithelial Phenotype of Prostate Cancer Cells Mol. Biol. Cell, April 15, 2009; 20(8): 2207 - 2217. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y. Haddad, W. Choi, and D. J. McConkey Delta-Crystallin Enhancer Binding Factor 1 Controls the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition Phenotype and Resistance to the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitor Erlotinib in Human Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Lines Clin. Cancer Res., January 15, 2009; 15(2): 532 - 542. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. M. Nelson and G. J. Weiss MicroRNAs and cancer: past, present, and potential future Mol. Cancer Ther., December 1, 2008; 7(12): 3655 - 3660. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. J. Kim, Y. H. Kim, D. S. Lee, J.-K. Chung, and S. Kim In Vivo Imaging of Functional Targeting of miR-221 in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma J. Nucl. Med., October 1, 2008; 49(10): 1686 - 1693. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
O. Kovalchuk, J. Filkowski, J. Meservy, Y. Ilnytskyy, V. P. Tryndyak, V. F. Chekhun, and I. P. Pogribny Involvement of microRNA-451 in resistance of the MCF-7 breast cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin Mol. Cancer Ther., July 1, 2008; 7(7): 2152 - 2159. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Korpal, E. S. Lee, G. Hu, and Y. Kang The miR-200 Family Inhibits Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Cancer Cell Migration by Direct Targeting of E-cadherin Transcriptional Repressors ZEB1 and ZEB2 J. Biol. Chem., May 30, 2008; 283(22): 14910 - 14914. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S.-M. Park, A. B. Gaur, E. Lengyel, and M. E. Peter The miR-200 family determines the epithelial phenotype of cancer cells by targeting the E-cadherin repressors ZEB1 and ZEB2 Genes & Dev., April 1, 2008; 22(7): 894 - 907. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Cancer Research | Clinical Cancer Research |
| Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention | Molecular Cancer Therapeutics |
| Molecular Cancer Research | Cancer Prevention Research |
| Cancer Prevention Journals Portal | Cancer Reviews Online |
| Annual Meeting Education Book | Meeting Abstracts Online |