Expression and functional perspectives of miR-184 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive malignant tumors, with its 5-year survival rate lower than 5%. MicroRNAs (miR) have been known as important regulators for the tumorigenesis, progression, invasion and metastasis of various cancers. MiR-184 was found to be abnormally expressed in various cancers including glioma and oral carcinoma. The expression and functional role of miR-184 in PDAC, however, remains unclear. PDAC cell line PANC-1 was transfected with miR-184 inhibitor. Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-184 in untreated PANC-1, miR-184 inhibitor transfected PANC-1 and controlled normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cell line HPDE6c7. MTT assay was used to detect the effect of miR-184 on the proliferation of PANC-1 cells, while invasion assay and Western blotting were employed to describe the effect on cell invasion ability and expression of caspase-3, respectively. In PANC-1 cells, miR-184 was abundantly expressed. The transfection of inhibitor effectively suppressed the expression of miR-184, and further inhibited both cell proliferation and invasion abilities, in addition to the up-regulation of pro-apoptotic protein caspase 3 expression. The up-regulation of miR-184 in PDAC may facilitate the proliferation and invasion ability, and inhibit apoptosis of tumor cells, thus potentiating the occurrence and development of PDAC. MiR-184, therefore, is a potential molecular target for therapy.