MicroRNA-217 functions as a prognosis predictor and inhibits pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and invasion via targeting E2F3.

OBJECTIVE

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the most malignant tumor among all the tumors in the digestive system. MiR-217 has been reported to take a critical part in various malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to explore the function of MiR-217 in pancreatic cancer and its target genes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Twenty pairs of PC tissues and matched normal adjacent pancreatic tissues were collected. The expression of miR-217 in PC tissues and normal pancreatic tissues was detected by Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PC cells were transfected with miR-217 mimics, inhibitors and negative control, respectively. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to detect cell viability. Cell apoptosis was checked via Annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis kit. The protein expression of E2F3 was detected by Western blot. To detect repression by miR-217, HEK293T cells were co-transfected with the indicated E2F3 3'-UTR luciferase reporter.

RESULTS

The expression of miR-217 was reduced in PC tissues comparing to normal pancreatic tissues. Meantime, the in-vitro study revealed that miR-217 suppressed PC cell growth, invasion but promoted apoptosis. Next, we proved that E2F3 was the target of miR-217 on PC cell function.

CONCLUSIONS

miR-217 suppresses PC cell growth, invasion but promotes apoptosis in vitro through targeting E2F3. The miR-217-E2F3 axis may be used for PC therapy.