MiRNA-155 promotes the invasion of colorectal cancer SW-480 cells through regulating the Wnt/β-catenin.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of microRNA-155 (miR-155) in the potential invasion of colon cancer cell and the underlying mechanism.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression level of miR-155 in colon cancer and adjacent normal tissues was detected by Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). miR-155 mimics (miR-155), or siRNA against β-catenin (β-catenin siRNA), was transfected into human colon cancer cell line SW-480 using Lipofectamine 2000, respectively. RT-PCR was used to measure the expression levels of miR-155 and β-catenin mRNA, and β-catenin protein expression level was detected by Western blot. The in-vitro cell invasion abilities were determined by transwell invasion assays after up-regulating miR-155 or knocking down of β-catenin.

RESULTS: MiR-155 directly regulates β-catenin at the transcriptional level, and promotes the invasion potential of colon cancer cell, at least partly through the upregulation of β-catenin.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that miR-155 and β-catenin may have a unique potential as a novel biomarker candidate for diagnosis and treatment of tumor metastasis.