Effects of the miR-143/-145 microRNA cluster on the colon cancer proteome and transcriptome

The miR-143/-145 cluster is greatly reduced in several cancers, including colon cancer. Both miR-143 and miR-145 have been shown to possess antitumorigenic activity with involvement in various cancer-related events such as proliferation, invasion, and migration. As the deregulation of the miR-143/-145 cluster is implicated in tumorigenesis, we combined SILAC and microarray analyses to systematically interrogate the impact of miR-143/-145 on the colon cancer proteome and transcriptome. Using SILAC, we identified over 2000 proteins after reintroduction of miR-143 and miR-145, in the colon cancer cell line SW480, individually, and then, in concert. Our goal was to determine whether these microRNAs function individually or synergistically. The resulting regulated gene products showed evidence of both mRNA destabilization and translational inhibition with a bias toward the former mechanism of regulation. Numerous candidate targets were identified whose expression is attributable to an individual microRNA or whose regulation was more apparent following reintroduction of the miR-143/-145 cluster. In addition, several shared targets of miR-143 and miR-145 were identified. Overall, our results indicate that the summed effects of individually introduced microRNAs produce distinct molecular changes from the consequences of the assembled cluster. We conclude that there is a need to investigate both the individual and combined functional implications of a microRNA cluster.