Aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression contributes to a series of malignant cancer behaviors, including radioresistance. Our previous study showed differential expression of miR-185-3p in post-radiation nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells. To investigate the role of miR-185-3p in NPC radioresistance, CNE-2 and 5-8F cells were transfected with miR-185-3p mimic and miR-185-3p inhibitor, respectively. CCK-8 assay and colony formation experiment confirmed that the expression of miR-185-3p affected the radioresistance of NPC cells. A negative correlation between miR-185-3p and WNT2B expression was observed in NPC cells and tissues. Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that miR-185-3p directly targeted the coding region of WNT2B. Furthermore, we found radioresistance decreased in WNT2B-silenced NPC cells. Activation of the WNT2B/β-catenin pathway was accompanied by epithelial-mesenchymal transition biomarker changes in NPC. We concluded that miR-185-3p contributed to the radioresistance of NPC via modulation of WNT2B expression in vitro.
Keywords: Epithelial mesenchymal transition; WNT2B; miR-185-3p; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; radioresistance.
© 2014 The Authors. Cancer Science published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.