WEE1 is a validated target of the microRNA miR-17-92 cluster in leukemia

MicroRNAs are short single-stranded RNAs that regulate target gene expression by binding to complementary sites in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of their mRNA targets. The polycistronic miR-17-92 cluster, which encodes miR-17, miR-18a, miR-19a, miR-20a, miR-19b, and miR-92a, was previously shown to be overexpressed in multiple types of cancer. In this study, target gene prediction algorithms were used to predict potential targets of the miR-17-92 cluster. WEE1, a kinase that inhibits cell cycle progression, was identified as a possible target of five of the six miRNAs in the cluster. Luciferase reporter assays were used to determine that miR-17, miR-20a, and miR-18a specifically target nucleotides 465-487 of the 3' UTR of WEE1, whereas miR-19a and miR-19b exert control on WEE1 by targeting nucleotides 1069-1091. A negative correlation was determined between endogenous miR-17 or miR-19a expression and endogenous WEE1 protein expression in the same panel of cell lines. We conclude that WEE1 is a valid target of the miR-17-92 cluster in leukemia.