MicroRNA sequencing detects miR-424-5p up-regulation in ovarian cancer stem cells

• Published in: Genes & genomics Vol. 37; no. 9; pp. 737 - 742
• Main Authors: Yun, J.H., KIST Gangneung Institute of Natural Products, Gangneung, Republic of Korea, Lim, J., Hallym University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea, Ha, I.S., KIST Gangneung Institute of Natural Products, Gangneung, Republic of Korea, Shin, J.M., KIST Gangneung Institute of Natural Products, Gangneung, Republic of Korea, Kim, J.H., Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Kim, J., Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, Nho, C.W., KIST Gangneung Institute of Natural Products, Gangneung, Republic of Korea, Cho, Y.S., Hallym University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Genetics Society of Korea 01.09.2015; 한국유전학회
• Subjects: algorithms; Animal Genetics and Genomics; animal ovaries; Biomedical and Life Sciences; gene expression regulation; genes; Human Genetics; humans; Life Sciences; metastasis; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; microRNA; neoplasm cells; NEOPLASMAS; NEOPLASME; NEOPLASMS; non-coding RNA; nucleotides; Ovarian cancer stem cells,SK-OV-3 cells,microRNA,microRNA sequencing; ovarian neoplasms; Plant Genetics and Genomics; quantitative polymerase chain reaction; Research Article; stem cells; 생물학; microRNA; Ovarian cancer stem cells; SK-OV-3 cells; microRNA sequencing
• ISSN: 1976-9571; 2092-9293
• DOI: 10.1007/s13258-015-0299-9

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are cancer cells that possess the ability to undergo continuous proliferation and self-renewal. It has been postulated that CSCs are responsible for tumor growth, heterogeneity, invasion, metastasis, and recurrence. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides, are known to be involved in the maintenance of CSCs. To gain insight into the role of miRNAs in CSCs, we investigated the differential expression of miRNAs in ovarian CSCs compared to non-CSCs. Ovarian CSCs were isolated from the human ovarian cancer cell line SK-OV-3 using two ovarian CSC-specific surface markers, CD44 and CD117. The expression levels of miRNAs in CSCs and non-CSCs were estimated by miRNA sequencing. We detected four up-regulated miRNAs (miR-29a-5p, miR-34c-5p, miR-106a-5p, and miR-424-5p) in ovarian CSCs, and miR-424-5p was validated by real-time qPCR. MiR-424-5p target genes were predicted using several validated target databases and computational algorithms. Pathway analysis indicated that most miR-424-5p target genes are involved in cancer-related biological pathways. Overall, these results suggest that miR-424-5p is a potential regulator of CSCs that endows human ovarian tissue with tumorigenic potential and thus represents a potential therapeutic target for human ovarian cancer.