PLOS One: Genomic Loss of Tumor Suppressor miRNA-204 Promotes Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion by Activating AKT/mTOR/Rac1 Signaling and Actin Reorganization
J. Saadi Imam, Jason R. Plyler , Hima Bansal , Suresh Prajapati , Sanjay Bansal, Jennifer Rebeles, Hung-I Harry Chen, Yao-Fu Chang, Subbarayalu Panneerdoss, Behyar Zoghi, Kalyan C. Buddavarapu, Russell Broaddus, Peter Hornsby, Gail Tomlinson, Jeffrey Dome, Ratna K. Vadlamudi, Alexander Pertsemlidis, Yidong Chen, Manjeet K. Rao
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that chromosomal regions containing microRNAs are functionally important in cancers. Here, we show that genomic loci encoding miR-204 are frequently lost in multiple cancers, including ovarian cancers, pediatric renal tumors, and breast cancers. MiR-204 shows drastically reduced expression in several cancers and act as a potent tumor suppressor, inhibiting tumor metastasis in vivo when systemically delivered. We demonstrated that miR-204 exerts its function by targeting genes involved in tumorigenesis including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin family member which is known to promote tumor angiogenesis and invasiveness. Analysis of primary tumors shows that increased expression of BDNF or its receptor tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) parallel a markedly reduced expression of miR-204. Our results reveal that loss of miR-204 results in BDNF overexpression and subsequent activation of the small GTPase Rac1 and actin reorganization through the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway leading to cancer cell migration and invasion. These results suggest that microdeletion of genomic loci containing miR-204 is directly linked with the deregulation of key oncogenic pathways that provide a crucial stimulus for tumor growth and metastasis. Our findings provide a strong rationale for manipulating miR-204 levels therapeutically to suppress tumor metastasis.
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