MicroRNA 320a-3p up-regulation reduces PD-L1 expression in gastric cancer cells: an experimental and bioinformatic study

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that dysregulated microRNAs were critical in the development of tumors and the progression number of malignancies. This research aimed to check the effect of microRNA 320a-3p transfection on gastric cancer (GC) cell lines. Following transfection, the efficacy was determined by the RT-PCR method. After that, MTT, scratch assay, DAPI staining, RT-PCR, and flow cytometry were used respectively. The results demonstrated that the viability of GC cells considerably decreased following transfection. Moreover, microRNA 320a-3p transfection significantly suppressed cell migration and induced apoptosis in these cells. We found that transfection of microRNA 320a-3p remarkably decreased PD-L1 gene expression and influenced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related and apoptotic gene expressions. The findings propose that microRNA 320a-3p could decrease cell proliferation and migration and induce apoptosis by increasing TP53 and CASP3 expression levels in GC cells. Notably, microRNA 320a-3p might be a potential target in GC immunotherapy by suppressing the PD-L1 gene expression.