MicroRNA-330-5p as a Putative Modulator of Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Sensitivity in Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma

PLoS One. 2015 Jul 29;10(7):e0134180. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134180. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) is the sixth most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, and the 5-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with the disease is approximately 17%. The standard of care for locally advanced disease is neoadjuvant chemotherapy or, more commonly, combined neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (neo-CRT) prior to surgery. Unfortunately, ~60-70% of patients will fail to respond to neo-CRT. Therefore, the identification of biomarkers indicative of patient response to treatment has significant clinical implications in the stratification of patient treatment. Furthermore, understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning tumour response and resistance to neo-CRT will contribute towards the identification of novel therapeutic targets for enhancing OAC sensitivity to CRT. MicroRNAs (miRNA/miR) function to regulate gene and protein expression and play a causal role in cancer development and progression. MiRNAs have also been identified as modulators of key cellular pathways associated with resistance to CRT. Here, to identify miRNAs associated with resistance to CRT, pre-treatment diagnostic biopsy specimens from patients with OAC were analysed using miRNA-profiling arrays. In pre-treatment biopsies miR-330-5p was the most downregulated miRNA in patients who subsequently failed to respond to neo-CRT. The role of miR-330 as a potential modulator of tumour response and sensitivity to CRT in OAC was further investigated in vitro. Through vector-based overexpression the E2F1/p-AKT survival pathway, as previously described, was confirmed as a target of miR-330 regulation. However, miR-330-mediated alterations to the E2F1/p-AKT pathway were insufficient to significantly alter cellular sensitivity to chemotherapy (cisplatin and 5-flurouracil). In contrast, silencing of miR-330-5p enhanced, albeit subtly, cellular resistance to clinically relevant doses of radiation. This study highlights the need for further investigation into the potential of miR-330-5p as a predictive biomarker of patient sensitivity to neo-CRT and as a novel therapeutic target for manipulating cellular sensitivity to neo-CRT in patients with OAC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / genetics*
  • Adenocarcinoma / metabolism
  • Adenocarcinoma / therapy*
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Chemoradiotherapy, Adjuvant
  • Down-Regulation
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / genetics
  • E2F1 Transcription Factor / metabolism
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism
  • Middle Aged
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / metabolism
  • RNA Interference
  • Radiation Tolerance / genetics
  • Treatment Failure

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • E2F1 Transcription Factor
  • E2F1 protein, human
  • MIRN330 microRNA, human
  • MicroRNAs
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Cancer and Polio Research Fund (www.cprf.org.uk) awarded to SGM and the Irish Cancer Society (www.cancer.ie) CRF10MAH awarded to SGM. BASB is supported by a University of Hull PhD scholarship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.