MicroRNA-33a levels do not correlate with the expression of its host gene SREBF2 and its isoforms in prostate cancer cell lines

Abstract

Objective. Prostate cancer is currently the most frequently diagnosed malignant neoplasm and the secondleading cause of cancer related mortality in men over the age of 50 years in the developed countries.MicroRNA-33a (miR-33a), localized within the intron 16 of SREBF2, has been reported to have tumorsuppressive properties in some cancers including prostate cancer, whereas its host gene, SREBF2, has beenshown to be elevated in prostate cancer and to act as an oncogene. Due to the paradoxical expression of anoncogene and a tumor suppressor from a single genetic locus, there is a need for evaluation of miR-33a andSREBF2 expression status in prostate cancer cells to help understanding their roles in prostate carcinogenesis.Methods. In this study, we aimed at investigating the link between the expressions of miR-33a and its hostgene SREBF2 and its isoforms in prostate cancer cell lines using quantitative real time PCR. We evaluated therelative expression levels with using 2- ΔΔCTmethod and tested the correlations of microRNA and geneexpressions with Pearson’s Correlation test using GraphPad Prism 6. Results. Our results demonstrated variableexpression levels for SREBF2 mRNA and miR-33a expression levels in prostate cancer cell lines, with somedecreased, some increased and some unchanged. Further analysis showed a strong correlation amongexpressions of SREBF2 isoforms though we could not find a significant association between levels of SREBF2isoforms and miR-33a expression. Conclusion. This data suggest possible posttranscriptional regulation ofmiR-33a expression in prostate cancer