Curcumin suppresses proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis and induces apoptosis by regulating multiple signalling pathways and miRNAs in a wide variety of human malignancies. miRNAs play crucial roles in various steps of carcinogenesis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); thus, they could serve as critical therapeutic targets for NPC treatment. Curcumin could provide a novel strategy to block or induce specific miRNAs for miRNA-based gene therapies. Nevertheless, there are no reports to date on the miRNAs regulated by curcumin in NPC. In the present study, we have carried out an miRNA microarray to identify the miRNAs regulated by curcumin in NPC. Curcumin treatment down-regulated the expression of hsa-miR-125a-5p, hsa-miR-574-3p and hsa-miR-210 as determined by miRNA microarray analysis and qPCR (real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR). Forced expression of miR-125a-5p enhanced proliferation, migration and invasion of HONE1 cells. Primary NPC exhibited a significantly higher expression level of miR-125a-5p than healthy controls. miR-125a-5p inhibited the expression of tumour protein 53 (TP53), and curcumin treatment up-regulated the expression of TP53. Taken together, these results indicate that curcumin exerted inhibitory effects on NPC by inhibiting the expression of miR-125a-5p and, subsequently, enhancing the expression of TP53. Curcumin could provide a novel strategy to block miR-125a-5p for miRNA-based gene therapies in NPC.
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Research Article|
July 09 2014
Curcumin exerts inhibitory effects on undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma by inhibiting the expression of miR-125a-5p
Wei Gao;
Wei Gao
*Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Jimmy Yu-Wai Chan;
Jimmy Yu-Wai Chan
*Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Thian-Sze Wong
*Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Correspondence: Dr Thian-Sze Wong (email [email protected]).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
January 07 2014
Revision Received:
May 23 2014
Accepted:
June 04 2014
Accepted Manuscript online:
June 04 2014
Online ISSN: 1470-8736
Print ISSN: 0143-5221
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2014 Biochemical Society
2014
Clin Sci (Lond) (2014) 127 (9): 571–579.
Article history
Received:
January 07 2014
Revision Received:
May 23 2014
Accepted:
June 04 2014
Accepted Manuscript online:
June 04 2014
Citation
Wei Gao, Jimmy Yu-Wai Chan, Thian-Sze Wong; Curcumin exerts inhibitory effects on undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma by inhibiting the expression of miR-125a-5p. Clin Sci (Lond) 1 November 2014; 127 (9): 571–579. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/CS20140010
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