Poly r(C) binding protein is post-transcriptionally repressed by MiR-490-3p to potentiate squamous cell carcinoma.

Squamous cell skin carcinoma remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality with a huge cost of treatment, necessitating discovery and validation of potent therapeutic targets. Poly r(C) binding protein 1 (PCBP1) has been previously shown to function as a tumor suppressor. Previous work has shown that PCBP1 expression is inversely correlated to maintenance of cancer stem cells in squamous cell skin carcinoma and prostate cancer, respectively. However, the precise mechanism that regulates PCBP1 expression has not been elucidated. Here, we show that loss of PCBP1 protein expression observed in CD34+ COLO-16 cells is orchestrated by translational silencing. Translational silencing is caused by targeting of PCBP1 mRNA by miR-490-3p. Exogenous manipulation of miR-490-3p levels can accordingly modulate PCBP1 protein expression, thus suggesting that miR-490-3p as a potential biomarker in squamous cell skin cancer with therapeutic benefits.