MicroRNA-217 functions as a prognosis predictor and inhibits pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and invasion via targeting E2F3.

OBJECTIVE: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the most malignant tumor among all the tumors in the digestive system. MiR-217 has been reported to take a critical part in various malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to explore the function of MiR-217 in pancreatic cancer and its target genes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty pairs of PC tissues and matched normal adjacent pancreatic tissues were collected. The expression of miR-217 in PC tissues and normal pancreatic tissues was detected by Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PC cells were transfected with miR-217 mimics, inhibitors and negative control, respectively. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to detect cell viability. Cell apoptosis was checked via Annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis kit. The protein expression of E2F3 was detected by Western blot. To detect repression by miR-217, HEK293T cells were co-transfected with the indicated E2F3 3'-UTR luciferase reporter.

RESULTS: The expression of miR-217 was reduced in PC tissues comparing to normal pancreatic tissues. Meantime, the in-vitro study revealed that miR-217 suppressed PC cell growth, invasion but promoted apoptosis. Next, we proved that E2F3 was the target of miR-217 on PC cell function.

CONCLUSIONS: miR-217 suppresses PC cell growth, invasion but promotes apoptosis in vitro through targeting E2F3. The miR-217-E2F3 axis may be used for PC therapy.