MicroRNA expression and functional profiles of osteosarcoma.

OBJECTIVE

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most frequent primary malignant bone tumor in children and young adults. Although the introduction of combined neoadjuvant chemotherapy has significantly prolonged survival, the outcome for OS patients showing a poor response to chemotherapy is still unfavorable. In order to develop new therapeutic approaches, elucidation of the entire molecular pathway regulating OS cell proliferation would be desirable.

METHODS

MicroRNA (miRNA) are highly conserved noncoding RNA that play important roles in the development and progression of various other cancers. Using miRNA microarrays capable of detecting a known number of 933 miRNA, 108 miRNA were found to be commonly expressed in 24 samples of OS tissue and subjected to a cell proliferation assay.

RESULTS

We found that inhibition of 5 let-7 family miRNA (hsa-let-7a, b, f, g and i) significantly suppressed the proliferation of OS cells. Using a quantitative shotgun proteomics approach, we also found that the let-7 family miRNA regulated the expression of vimentin and serpin H1 proteins.

CONCLUSIONS

Our present results indicate the involvement of let-7 family miRNA in regulation of the cell proliferation as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition of OS. Thus, let-7 family miRNA may potentially provide novel targets for the development of therapeutic strategies against OS.