Haowei Liu1, Juan Wang2, Yexing Tao3, Xumei Li1, Jianli Qin1, Zhun Bai4, Bixia Chi5, Wei Yan6, Xu Chen7. 1. College of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, 541004 Guilin, China. 2. Research Center for Science, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541004, China; Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 410008 Changsha, China. 3. Research Center for Science, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541004, China. 4. Intensive Care Unit, Zhuzhou Central Hospital, 412007 Zhuzhou, China. 5. Digestive System Department, The Frist People's Hospital of Yueyang, 414000 Yueyang, China. 6. The Frist hospital of Fuzhou, 350000 Fuzhou, China. 7. College of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, 541004 Guilin, China. Electronic address: chenxu@glmc.edu.cn.
Abstract
AIMS: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate how curcumol affected the expression of miR-21 and whether its effects on miR-21 was associated with the activation of PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathways in CRC cells. MAIN METHODS: MTT and xenograft assay were used to examine how curcumol inhibits colorectal cancer (CRC) cells' growth. Q-PCR and western blot analysis were employed to test the role of miR-21 in the inhibition of curcumol on proliferation and PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathways of CRC cells. KEY FINDINGS: We found that curcumol effectively inhibited CRC cells from proliferating via the PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathways and reduced expression of miR-21 both in vitro and in vivo. miR-21 mimics were found to decrease the protein level of PTEN and increase the expression of PI3K, phospho-Akt (p-Akt) and NF-κB, while miR-21 sponge (miR-21-SP) enhanced the expression of PTEN and reduced the activity of PI3K, Akt and NF-κB. Furthermore, miR-21-SP strengthened the role of curcumol in up-regulating PTEN and inhibiting PI3K/Akt pathways, but miR-21 reversed the effect of curcumol on the PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathways. SIGNIFICANCE: Our research demonstrated that curcumol reduced the proliferation of CRC cells through PTEN/PI3K/Akt by targeting miR-21 and miR-21 could be a target molecule of curcumol for CRC treatment.
AIMS: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate how curcumol affected the expression of miR-21 and whether its effects on miR-21 was associated with the activation of PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathways in CRC cells. MAIN METHODS:MTT and xenograft assay were used to examine how curcumol inhibits colorectal cancer (CRC) cells' growth. Q-PCR and western blot analysis were employed to test the role of miR-21 in the inhibition of curcumol on proliferation and PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathways of CRC cells. KEY FINDINGS: We found that curcumol effectively inhibited CRC cells from proliferating via the PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathways and reduced expression of miR-21 both in vitro and in vivo. miR-21 mimics were found to decrease the protein level of PTEN and increase the expression of PI3K, phospho-Akt (p-Akt) and NF-κB, while miR-21 sponge (miR-21-SP) enhanced the expression of PTEN and reduced the activity of PI3K, Akt and NF-κB. Furthermore, miR-21-SP strengthened the role of curcumol in up-regulating PTEN and inhibiting PI3K/Akt pathways, but miR-21 reversed the effect of curcumol on the PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathways. SIGNIFICANCE: Our research demonstrated that curcumol reduced the proliferation of CRC cells through PTEN/PI3K/Akt by targeting miR-21 and miR-21 could be a target molecule of curcumol for CRC treatment.