NOL6, a new founding oncogene in human prostate cancer and targeted by miR-590-3p

We identified a new human prostate cancer oncogene, nucleolar protein 6 (NOL6), and screened for microRNAs that interfere with its expression in prostate cancer cells. A NOL6 shRNA plasmid was constructed and packaged into lentivirus to infect PC-3 cells. The ability of cell proliferation was evaluated by cell counting and colony formation. Cell cycle progression and apoptosis of PC-3 cells were detected by flow cytometry. A retrieval database was used to screen possible target microRNAs, and the effect of target miRNA overexpression on PC-3 cells was observed. The results showed that after NOL6 gene knockdown, PC-3 cell mitosis was blocked, proliferation was decreased, and the number of apoptotic cells were increased. The microRNA, hsa-miR-590-3p, that can regulate the NOL6 gene expression was identified. Overexpression of miR-590-3p in PC-3 cells by synthetic mimics resulted in abnormal mitosis, decreased cell proliferation, and an increase in apoptosis. In summary, we identified NOL6 as a novel oncogene in the human prostate cancer PC-3 cell line. The miRNA miR-590-3p interferes with NOL6 expression making it a potential treatment for prostate cancer.