miRNA‑27a promotes the proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of human pancreatic cancer cells by Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

A specific expression of miRNA in pancreatic cancer renders it the novel diagnostic marker of pancreatic cancer. Therefore, we investigated how the anticancer effect of miRNA‑27a suppressed cell growth and induced apoptosis of human pancreatic cancer cells. We upregulated miRNA‑27a expression in PANC-1 cells using miRNA‑27a mimic, which demonstrated that induction of cell growth and suppression of apoptosis of human pancreatic cancer cells were observed. However, anti‑miRNA‑27a inhibited cell growth and apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. The downregulation of miRNA‑27a suppressed Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin pathway increased the anticancer effects of anti‑miRNA‑27a on human pancreatic cancer cells. Taken together, miRNA‑27a promotes the proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of human pancreatic cancer cells via Wnt/β-catenin pathway.