The role of microRNA-30a and downstream snail1 on the growth and metastasis of melanoma tumor

• Main Authors: Jahangir Noori, Shaghayegh Haghjooy Javanmard, Mohammadreza Sharifi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 2019-05-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences
• Subjects: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Melanoma; Metastasis; miR-30a; Neoplasm; Snail1
• Online Access: http://ijbms.mums.ac.ir/article_12577_c4ce8cda29aa3b35f60fa23187946fa9.pdf
• ISSN: 2008-3866; 2008-3874

Objective(s): Growing evidences have indicated microRNAs as modulators of tumor development and aggression. On the other hand, a phenomenon known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) that indicates a transient phase from epithelial-like features to mesenchymal phenotype is a key player in tumor progression.  In this study, we aimed to assess the potential impacts of miR-30a-5p as an inhibitor of melanoma progression and metastasis.Materials and Methods: MiR-30a-5p was transfected into B16-F10 melanoma cells. Then, the B16-F10 cells were injected subcutaneously or intravenously (IV) in to C57BL/6 mice. Then, the mice were euthanized and tumor size, tumor weight, snail1 protein expression and nodules in the lungs were evaluated.Results: The migration of cancerous cells was significantly suppressed in vitro following the ectopic presentation of miR-30a-5p into B16-F10 melanoma cells. Furthermore, the metastatic behavior of the neoplastic cells was further suppressed in a xenograft mouse model of melanoma as observed with limited lung infiltration. We also found that transfected miR-30a-5p into melanoma cells could decrease snail1 and N-cadherin expression. Conclusion: MiR-30a-5p may represent an effective therapeutic target for the management of melanoma and other snail-overexpressing neoplasms.