MiR-92a regulates PTEN/Akt signaling axis to promote paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cancer cells

Abstract

To investigate the function and possible mechanism of miR-92a in malignant behaviors such as paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cancer (OC) cells. The miR-92a and PTEN expression were detected by real-time PCR (RT-PCR). The cell viability and apoptosis were detected by MTT, colony formation and flow cytometry assay, respectively. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was adopted to verify the targeting relationship between miR-92a and PTEN. Besides, we measured the relative protein levels of PTEN and p-AKT/AKT by Western blot. MiR-92a was significantly highly expressed in OC cells, and its high expression could notably enhance paclitaxel resistance, cell proliferation and colony formation, as well as inhibit apoptosis in SKOV3-Tax cells. Further luciferase reporter assay and expression detection showed that miR-92a could target and regulate PTEN and that there was a targeted relationship between them. In addition, further exploration of the mechanism revealed that miR-92a regulated PTEN/Akt signaling pathway. MiR-92a not only promotes the proliferation, colony formation and paclitaxel resistance of SKOV3-Tax cells in OC, but also inhibits apoptosis, and it may be related to the regulation of the PTEN/Akt signaling pathway. MiR-92a serves as a potential biomarker for the malignant biological behavior of OC cells.