MiR-9 Promotes Apoptosis Suppressing SMC1A Expression in GBM Cell Lines

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Glioblastomas multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant brain cancer, which presented vast genomic variation with complicated pathologic mechanism. METHOD MicroRNA is a delicate post-transcriptional tuner of gene expression in the organisms by targeting and regulating protein coding genes. MiR-9 was reported as a significant biomarker for GBM patient prognosis and a key factor in regulation of GBM cancer stem cells. To explore the effect of miR-9 on GBM cell growth, we over expressed miR-9 in U87 and U251 cells. The cell viability decreased and apoptosis increased after miR-9 overexpression in these cells. To identify the target of miR-9, we scanned miR-9 binding site in the 3'UTRs region of expression SMC1A (structural maintenance of chromosomes 1A) genes and designed a fluorescent reporter assay to measure miR-9 binding to this region. Our results revealed that miR-9 binds to the 3'sUTR region of SMC1A and down-regulated SMC1A expression. RESULT Our results indicated that miR-9 was a potential therapeutic target for GBM through triggering apoptosis of cancer cells.