Integrative analysis of signaling pathways and diseases associated with the miR-106b/25 cluster and their function study in berberine-induced multiple myeloma cells

• DOI: 10.1007/s10142-016-0519-7
• Publication Date: 2016-09-19T02:54:46Z
• Authors: Chunming Gu; Tianfu Li; Zhao Yin; Shengting Chen; Jia Fei; Jianping Shen; Yuan Zhang
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; MicroRNAs; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; Berberine; Cell Line, Tumor; Humans; Multiple Myeloma; Signal Transduction; 3. Good health

Berberine (BBR), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine compound, has emerged as a novel class of anti-tumor agent. Our previous microRNA (miRNA) microarray demonstrated that miR-106b/25 was significantly down-regulated in BBR-treated multiple myeloma (MM) cells. Here, systematic integration showed that miR-106b/25 cluster is involved in multiple cancer-related signaling pathways and tumorigenesis. MiREnvironment database revealed that multiple environmental factors (drug, ionizing radiation, hypoxia) affected the miR-106b/25 cluster expression. By targeting the seed region in the miRNA, tiny anti-mir106b/25 cluster (t-anti-mir106b/25 cluster) significantly induced suppression in cell viability and colony formation. Western blot validated that t-anti-miR-106b/25 cluster effectively inhibited the expression of P38 MAPK and phospho-P38 MAPK in MM cells. These findings indicated the miR-106b/25 cluster functioned as oncogene and might provide a novel molecular insight into MM.