MiR-223/PAX6 Axis Regulates Glioblastoma Stem Cell Proliferation and the Chemo Resistance to TMZ via Regulating PI3K/Akt Pathway.

Chemotherapy is a standard strategy for glioma, while chemoresistance remains a major therapeutic challenge in current clinical practice. Our present study was aimed to determine whether inhibition of the miR-223/paired box 6 (PAX6) pathway could increase the sensitivity of glioma to Temozolomide. An elevated level of miR-223 was observed in glioma tissues. Exogenous miR-223 promoted cell survival when exposed to Temozolomide (TMZ), while miR-223 inhibition could reverse this process. The RNA and protein levels of PAX6 were significantly decreased by exogenous miR-223, and the 3'-untranslated region of PAX6 was shown to be a target of miR-223. Besides, it has also been reported that PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is pivotal to regulate glioma growth and proliferation. In the present study, we revealed that miR-223/PAX6 axis regulated the growth, invasion, and chemo resistance of glioblastoma stem cells to TMZ via regulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, which present a novel potential therapy for intervention of glioblastoma. Taken together, our findings shed new light on the miR-223/PAX6 pathway in glioma and this pathway might modulate the sensitivity of glioma to TMZ via regulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 3452-3461, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.