microRNA-206 impairs c-Myc-driven cancer in a synthetic lethal manner by directly inhibiting MAP3K13

Abstract

c-Myc (Myc) is one of the most frequently dysregulated oncogenic transcription factors in human cancer. By functionally screening a microRNA (miR) library, we identified miR-206 as being a synthetic lethal in Myc over-expressing human cancer cells. miR-206 inhibited MAP3K13, which resulted in Myc protein de-stabilization, and an inhibition of anchorage-independent growth and in vivo tumorigenesis by Myc over-expressing human cancer cells. Eliminating MAP3K13 by shRNA recapitulated the effects caused by miR-206, thus supporting the idea that miR-206's effect on Myc was mediated through MAP3K13. Conversely, enforced expression of MAP3K13 stabilized Myc by promoting its N-terminal phosphorylation and enhancing its transcriptional activity. Gene expression analyses of breast cancers expressing high levels of Myc indicated that low miR-206 expression and high MAP3K13 expression correlated with poor patient survival. The critical link between miR-206 and MAP3K13 in the development of Myc over-expressing human cancers suggests potential points of therapeutic intervention for this molecular sub-category.