MicroRNA-503 acts as a tumor suppressor in osteosarcoma by targeting L1CAM.

Deregulated microRNAs and their roles in tumorigenesis have attracted much attention in recent years. Although miR-503 was shown to be important in tumorigenesis, its role in osteosarcoma remains unknown. In this study, we focused on the expression and mechanisms of miR-503 in osteosarcoma development. We found that miR-503 was down-regulated in osteosarcoma cell lines and primary tumor samples, and the restoration of miR-503 reduced cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Low level of miR-503 in patients with osteosarcoma was associated with considerably shortened disease-free survival. Furthermore, bioinformatic prediction and experimental validation revealed that the anti-tumor effect of miR-503 was probably exerted through targeting and repressing of L1CAM expression. L1CAM was up-regulated in osteosarcoma cell lines and primary tumor samples and the expression level of L1CAM were negatively correlated with miR-503 levels in osteosarcoma tissues. Collectively, our data identify the important roles of miR-503 in osteosarcoma pathogenesis, indicating its potential application in cancer therapy.

Introduction

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor with high morbidity in young adults and adolescents, which accounts for approximately 19% of all malignant bone tumors and approximately 5% of all childhood tumors [1]. Osteosarcoma has a high metastatic potential and the main sites of metastases are the lungs, pleura, and the heart [2]. Despite the current advances in therapeutic strategies combining chemotherapy, surgery, and sometimes radiotherapy, prognosis of patients with recurrent or metastatic osteosarcomas remains poor [3]. Although recent developments in molecular mechanisms have provided insight into the molecular pathogenesis of osteosarcoma, the fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying the histological heterogeneity, drug resistance, and development of metastasis have not been fully elucidated [3], [4]. It is therefore of extreme significance to elucidate novel molecular targets to develop novel alternative therapeutic strategies for improving clinical outcome of patients suffering osteosarcoma.

The microRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of non-coding, small (approximately 22 nucleotides in length) RNAs that play important roles in the pathogenesis of human diseases by modulating the activity of specific mRNA targets [5]. MiRNAs involve in many cellular processes, such as differentiation, proliferation and apoptotic processes, which are important in the development of cancer [6]. Meanwhile, accumulated evidence indicates that abnormal expressions of miRNAs correlate with a number of cancers [7]. MiRNAs contribute to tumorigenesis and can function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors by regulating the expressions of their target genes [8]. Thus, investigation of aberrant miRNA expression in osteosarcoma might lead to the discovery of novel miRNA biomarkers for osteosarcoma [9].

In the present study, we confirmed thatmiR-503 was down-regulated in osteosarcoma. Also, overexpression of miR-503 suppressed osteosarcoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. Furthermore, miR-503 inhibited the expression of L1CAM both at the mRNA and protein levels. In conclusion, we found that miR-503 functions as a tumor suppressor by directly targeting L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM). Thus, our findings provide significant clues regarding the role of miR-503 as a tumor suppressor in osteosarcoma.

Materials and Methods

Ethics Statement

All of the patients (or patients' parents on behalf of the children) agreed to participate in the study and gave written informed consent. Both this study and consent were approved by the Ethics Committee of The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University and complied with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Patient and tumor samples

Osteosarcomas and morphologically normal tissues (located >3 cm away from the tumor) were obtained between 2006 and 2011 from 30 osteosarcoma patients who were undergoing surgery at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University. Tissue samples were immediately snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and then stored in liquid nitrogen until analysis. The detailed information of these patients was described in S1 Table.

Cell lines and cell culture

The following human cell lines were used in this study: MG-63 (14 years old, male), U2OS (15 years old, female), SOSP-9607(17 years old, male), and SAOS-2 (11 years old, female) and hFOB. These cell lines were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Rockville, MD, USA)and were propagated in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (Gibco; Invitrogen; Life Technologies, Germany) that was supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (GIBCO, NY, USA), streptomycin (100 µg/ml), and penicillin (100 U/ml).

Cell transfection

The miR-503 mimics and scrambled (which was non-homologous to the human genome), and negative control inhibitor or inhibitor miRNA were synthesized by GenePharma (Shanghai, China) and were transfected into the cells with a final oligonucleotide concentration of 20 nmol/L. All of the cell transfections were performed with DharmaFECT1 reagent (Dharmacon, TX, USA), according to the manufacturer's instructions.

RNA extraction and qRT-PCR

Total RNA from tissue samples and cell lines were isolated using the mirVana miRNA Isolation Kit (Ambion, USA). Mature miRNAs were reversely transcribed; and real-time PCR was performed using TaqMan microRNA assays with specific primers for hsa-miR-503. Real-time PCR was performed on the Applied Biosystems 7500 Real-Time PCR systems. Comparative real-time PCR was done intriplicate, including no-template controls. All miRNA quantification data were normalized with U6 expression and all mRNA quantification data were normalized to GAPDH. Fold changes were determined using the equation 2-DDCt relative to matched reference sample. The data were then transformed to log2 values (S2 Table).

Analysis of cell proliferation

Cells were incubated in 10% CCK-8 (Dojindo; Kumamoto, Japan) that was diluted in normal culture medium at 37°C until the visual color conversion occurred. Proliferation rates were determined at 0, 24, 48, and 72 hours after transfection.

Cell migration and invasion assays

For invasion assay, cells were serum-starved for 6 hours in DMEM containing 0.1% FBS. Serum-starved cells were trypsinized and resuspended in DMEM containing 0.1% FBS, and cells were added to the upper chamber of each well coated with 30 mg/cm2 Matrigel (ECM gel, Sigma-Aldrich, St.Louis, MO). After 24 hours at 37°C, cells on the upper membrane surface were removed by careful wiping with a cotton swab, and the filters were fixed by treatment with 95% ethanol for 30 minutes and stained with 0.2% crystal violet solution (Sigma) for 30 minutes. Invasive cells adhering to the undersurface of the filter were then counted using an inverted microscope. The migration assay is the same with invasion assay excepting no matrigel was used and the permeating time for cells was 12 hours.

Dual luciferase assays

HEK 293T cells were grown in 10% FBS in DMEM to 80–90% confluence in 24-well plates. Cells were co-transfected with 100 ng firefly luciferase reporter vector containing the L1CAM 3'-UTR or its 3'-UTR mutant and 8 ng of the control vector containing Renilla luciferase, pRL-TK (Promega), in a final volume of 0.5 ml performed with lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen). Firefly and Renilla luciferase activities were measured consecutively performed with dual luciferase assays (Promega) 48 hours after transfection.

Western blot analysis

Western blot analysis was carried out using standard methods. Proteins were separated by 10% SDS-PAGE and then transferred to PVDF membranes (Amersham, Buckinghamshire, UK). Membranes were blocked overnight with 5% non-fat dried milk and incubated for 2 h with anti-L1CAM antibody (Abcam, England) at a 1∶1000 dilution or with anti-GAPDH antibody (Proteintech, Chicago, USA) at a 1∶50000 dilutions. After washing with TBST, the membranes were incubated for 2 h with a goat anti-rabbit antibody (Zsgb-bio, Beijing, China) at either a 1∶5000 dilution or a 1∶50000 dilutions.

Statistical analysis

Each experiment was repeated at least three times. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 15.0. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. Statistical analyses were performed with either an analysis of variance (ANOVA) or Student's t-test, and the statistical significance level was set at α = 0.05 (two-side).

Results

miR-503 is down-regulated in osteosarcoma cell lines and tissues

The expressions of miR-503 in the osteosarcoma tissues were decreased and significantly lower in comparison to the adjacent tissues (Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B, p<0.01). The expression of miR-503 was also examined in four human osteosarcoma cells lines (MG-63, U2OS, SOSP-9607, and SAOS-2) and in hFOB using real-time RT-PCR. The osteosarcoma cells lines exhibited a significantly lower expression of miR-503 compared to hFOB (Fig. 1C). When correlated to disease outcome, loss of miR-503 levels in patients with osteosarcoma was associated with considerably shortened disease-free survival (hazards ratio  = 0.26, Fig. 1D).

Figure 1

The expression of miR-503 was down-regulated in osteosarcoma (A)qRT-PCR analysis of miR-503 expression in 30 pair'sosteosarcoma tissues and their corresponding adjacent normal tissues.

The expression of miR-503 was normalized to U6 snRNA. (B) Relative miR-503expressionlevels inosteosarcoma tissues and their corresponding adjacent normal tissues. (C) Loss of miR-503 levels in patients with osteosarcoma was associated with associated with considerably shortened disease-free survival. (D) The relative expression levels were determined by qRT-PCR in Human osteosarcoma cell lines (MG-63, U2OS, SOSP-9607, and SAOS-2)and hFOB. ***p<0.001.

miR-503 inhibits osteosarcoma cell proliferation

Cells were firstly transfected with scrambled control oligo or miR-503 mimics and inhibitor, which showed high transfection efficiency (Fig. 2A, C). CCK-8 proliferation assay showed that cell proliferation was decreasedin miR-503 mimics-transfected the MG-63 cells and U2OS cells compared with scrambled oligo-transfected cells or untreated cells (Fig. 2B and E). Conversely, miR-503 inhibitor significantly promoted the cell proliferation of the MG-63 cells and U2OS cells. (Fig. 2D and F).

Figure 2

Overexpression of miR-503inhibited proliferation of osteosarcoma cells.

(A) qRT-PCR analysis of miR-503 expression after the transfection of miR-503 mimics or scramble or no transfection. (B) The CCK8 assay used to evalute the proliferation of theMG-63 cells after transfection with the miR-503 mimics or scramble or no transfection. (C) RT-PCR analysis of miR-503 expression after the transfection of miR-503inhibitor or control or no transfection. (D) The CCK8 assay used to evalute the proliferation of theMG-63 cells after transfection with the miR-503 inhibitor or control or no transfection. (E) The CCK8 assay used to evalute the proliferation of theU2OScells after transfection with the miR-503 mimics or scramble or no transfection. (F)The CCK8 assay used to evalute the proliferation of theU2OScells after transfection with the miR-503 inhibitor or control or no transfection, *p<0.05, ** p<0.01, and ***p<0.001.

miR-503 inhibits migration and invasion of osteosarcoma

Migration and invasion assay were performed to investigate the effects of miR-503 on the migratory and invasive behaviors of osteosarcoma cells in vitro. The results demonstrated that cells in miR-503 mimics group exhibited significant declines in migration and invasion capacities compared with cells in control group and blank group respectively in both MG-63 cells and U2OS cells (Fig. 3A and B, C and D). Conversely, miR-503 inhibitor significantly promoted the cell migration and invasion of the MG-63 cells and U2OS cells. (Fig. 3A, B, C and D).

Figure 3

Overexpression of miR-503inhibitedmigration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells.

(A) Migration assays of the MG-63cells after treatment with miRNA mimics, inhibitors or scramble or no transfection; the relative ratio of migratory cells per field is shown on the right. (B) Invasion analysis of the MG-63 cells after treatment withmiRNA mimics, inhibitors or scramble or no transfection; the relative ratio of invasive cells per field is shownon the right. (C) Migration assays of the U2OScells after treatment with miRNA mimics, inhibitors or scramble or no transfection; the relative ratio of migratory cells per field is shown on the right. (D) Invasion analysis of the U2OScells after treatment withmiRNA mimics, inhibitors or scramble or no transfection; the relative ratio of invasive cells per field is shownon the right, *p<0.05, ** p<0.01, and ***p<0.001.

miR-503 regulates L1CAM expression in osteosarcoma

By using database TargetScan, we found that L1CAM was a putative target gene of miR-503 (Fig. 4A). Overexpression of miR-503 reduced the protein and mRNA levels of L1CAM in the MG-63cells (Fig. 4C and D). The effect of miR-503 on the translation of L1CAM mRNA into protein was then assessed using a luciferase reporter assay (Fig. 4B). Enforced expression of miR-503 remarkably reduced the luciferase activity of the reporter gene with the wild-type construct but not with the mutant L1CAM3'UTR construct, indicating miR-503 directly targeted the L1CAM 3'UTR.

Figure 4

miR-503 targeted L1CAM in osteosarcoma cells.

(A) The sequences of miR-503 binding sites within the human L1CAM 3'UTRs and schematic reporter constructs, in this panel, L1CAM -WT represent the reporter constructs containing the entire 3'UTR sequences of L1CAM. L1CAM -MUT represent the reporter constructs containing mutated nucleotides. (B) The analysis of the relative luciferase activities of L1CAM -WT, L1CAM -MUT. The error bars are derived from triplicate expriments. (C) qRT-PCR analysis of L1CAM mRNA expression in the Mg-63 cells after treatment withmiRNA mimics or scramble or no transfection. The expression of L1CAM was normalized to GAPDH. (D) Western blot analysis ofL1CAM expression in the MG-63 cells transfected with miR-503mimics or scramble or no transfection. GAPDH was also detected as a loading control.***p<0.001.

L1CAM was inversely expressed with miR-503 in osteosarcoma

The expression of L1CAM in the osteosarcoma tissues was increased in comparison to the adjacent tissues (Fig. 5A). In general, the expression of L1CAM in osteosarcoma tissues was significantly higher than in the adjacent tissues (Fig. 5B, p<0.01). The osteosarcoma cells lines exhibited a significantly higher mRNA and protein expression of L1CAM compared to hFOB (Fig. 5 C and D). As shown in Fig. 5E, when the L1CAM levels were plotted against miR-503 expression, a significant inverse correlation was obtained (two-tailed Pearson's correlation analysis, r = −0.86; p<0.01).

Figure 5

L1CAM was inversely expressed with miR-503 in osteosarcoma (A) qRT-PCR analysis of L1CAM expression in 30 pair's osteosarcoma tissues and their corresponding adjacent normal tissues.

The expression of L1CAM was normalized to GAPDH. (B) Relative L1CAMexpressionlevels inosteosarcoma tissues and their corresponding adjacent normal tissues.(C) The L1CAM relative mRNA expression levels were determined by qRT-PCR in Human osteosarcoma cell lines (MG-63, U2OS, SOSP-9607, and SAOS-2)) and hFOB. (D) Western blot analysis ofL1CAM expression in Human osteosarcoma cell lines (MG-63, U2OS, SOSP-9607, and SAOS-2)and hFOB. (D) Analysis of correlation of miR-503 and L1CAM expression in osteosarcoma tissues. (Two-tailed Pearson's correlation analysis, r = −0.86; p<0.01, n = 30). Data was presented as log 2 of fold change of osteosarcoma tissues relative to non-tumor adjacent tissues.***p<0.001.

Discussion

Osteosarcoma is the most common human primary malignant bone tumor characterized by an aggressive clinical course [5], [10]. Thus, in recent years, it has become one of the most promising fields to investigate molecular mechanisms contributing to osteosarcoma carcinogenesis and progression [11]. The importance of miRNAs in tumors and their potential utility as prognostic factors have become apparent [12]. In the present study, we found that miR-503 expression is down-regulated in osteosarcoma cells and tissues in comparison with paired adjacent non-tumor bone tissues. Moreover, the results of Kaplan–Meier analyses showed that osteosarcoma patients with decreased miR-503 tended to have shorter overall and progression-free survival. In addition, we found that the ectopic expression of miR-503 suppressed the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in the osteosarcoma cell line. Furthermore, we also identified L1CAM as a novel and direct target of miR-503. Our findings suggested that miR-503 has a suppressor role in osteosarcoma tumorigenesis and cancer cell invasion.

Here, we presented the downregulation of miR-503 in osteosarcoma and suggested the anti-tumor effect of miR-503 in osteosarcoma pathogenesis. Interestingly, miR-503 expression patterns differ among human cancers. MiR-503 down-regulation was described in cervical cancer, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, central nervous system tumors, and hepatocellular carcinoma, whereas its up-regulation was shown in colon and ovarian cancers [13]–[19]. These controversial results suggest that the role of miR-503 is possibly tumor specific and highly dependent on its targets in different cancers. Moreover, osteosarcoma tissues with the decreased expression of miR-503 tend to have shorter overall and progression-free survival. Overexpression of miR-503 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion; reduced cell viability in osteosarcoma cell lines. Meanwhile, down-regulation of miR-503 significantly promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion. These results suggested that miR-503 acted as a tumor-suppressor whose downregulation may contribute to the progression and metastasis of osteosarcoma.

We further explored the possible targets of miR-503 in osteosarcoma cells. Among the candidate target genes, we focused on L1CAM because of its role as a regulator of tumor growth and angiogenesis [20]. Using a dual-luciferase reporter assay we showed that miR-503 directly bound to the 3'-UTR of L1CAM, which contains a miR-503-binding site. Overexpression of miR-503 significantly repressed L1CAM expression at the both mRNA and protein levels. We also observed substantial up-regulation of L1CAM mRNA in osteosarcoma tissues and miR-503 levels were negatively correlated with L1CAM levels. Collectively, these results confirmed that miR-503 might function as a tumor suppressor in part by repressing L1CAM expression during the development of osteosarcoma.

L1CAM is the prototype member of the L1-family of closely related neural adhesion molecules [21]. L1CAM was discovered as a cell adhesion molecule in the nervous system [22]. Subsequent work in tumor biology has showed that L1CAM is overexpressed in many human cancers, such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and endometrial carcinoma, ovarian, melanoma and glioblastoma [23]–[26]. L1CAM expression is generally associated with poor prognosis, an aggressive phenotype, and advanced tumor stages [27]. Investigations in a variety of tumor types demonstrated that increased expression of L1CAM significantly increased the migration and proliferation capacity of cancer cells in vitro [28]. In addition, multiple clinical pathology studies have indicated that L1CAM might promote cancer cell invasion and metastasis [28], [29]. In our study, we showed that L1CAM expression was up-regulated in osteosarcoma cells and tissues in comparison with paired adjacent non-tumor bone tissues. The expression of L1CAM was negatively correlated with miR-503 levels. Downregulation of this miR-503 in osteosarcoma may facilitate the expression of L1CAM, leading to enhanced metastasis of the cancer.

In conclusion, the results presented here demonstrated that miR-503 played critical roles in the growth and invasion of osteosarcoma cells. MiR-503 was significantly downregulated in human osteosarcoma compared to paired adjacent non-tumor tissues. Over-expression of miR-503 down-regulated the expression of L1CAM protein and mRNA simultaneously, suggesting that miR-503 functions as a tumor suppressor probably through down-regulating L1CAM in osteosarcoma. Thus, these results indicate that miR-503 functions as a tumor suppressor gene and can be used as a potential target in the gene therapy of osteosarcoma.

Clinicopathologic charateristics of patients with osteosarcoma.

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Primer sequence.

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