Genistein down-regulates miR-223 expression in pancreatic cancer cells.

Although genistein has been shown to inhibit tumorigenesis in a variety of human cancers including pancreatic cancer (PC), the exact molecular mechanism of its anti-cancer effects has not yet been fully elucidated. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to regulate multiple aspects of tumor development and progression, indicating that targeting miRNAs could be a novel strategy to treat human cancers. In the current study, we investigated whether a natural compound genistein could down-regulate onco-miR-223, resulting in the inhibition of cell growth and invasion, and induction of apoptosis in PC cells. We found that genistein treatment significantly inhibited miR-223 expression and up-regulated Fbw7, one of the targets of miR-223. Moreover, down-regulation of miR-223 inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis in PC cells. These findings suggest that genistein exerts its anti-tumor activity partly through downregulation of miR-223 in PC cells.