The role of melatonin on miRNAs modulation in triple-negative breast cancer cells

Lívia C. Ferreira, Francesca Orso, Daniela Dettori, Jéssica Z. Lacerda, Thaiz F. Borin, Daniela Taverna, Debora A.P.C. Zuccari

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Melatonin, a hormone secreted by pineal gland, exerts antimetastatic effects by reducing tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that play a crucial role in regulation of gene expression and biological processes of the cells. Herein, we search for a link between the tumor/metastatic-suppressive actions of melatonin and miRNA expression in triple-negative breast cancer cells. We demonstrated that melatonin exerts its anti-tumor actions by reducing proliferation, migration and c-Myc expression of triple negative breast cancer cells. By using Taqman-based assays, we analyzed the expression levels of a set of miRNAs following melatonin treatment of triple negative breast cancer cells and we identified 17 differentially expressed miRNAs, 6 down-regulated and 11 up-regulated. We focused on the anti-metastatic miR-148b and the oncogenic miR-210 both up-regulated by melatonin treatment and studied the effect of their modulation on melatonin-mediated impairment of tumor progression. Surprisingly, when miR-148b or miR-210 were depleted in triple-negative breast cancer cells, using a specific miR-148b sponge or anti-miR-210, melatonin effects on migration inhibition and c-myc downregulation were still visible suggesting that the increase of miR-148b and miR-210 expression observed following melatonin treatment was not required for the efficacy of melatonin action. Nevertheless, ours results suggest that melatonin exhibit a compound for metastatic trait inhibition, especially in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells even if a direct link between modulation of expression of certain proteins or miRNAs and melatonin effects has still to be established.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere0228062
JournalPloS one
Volume15
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2020
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The role of melatonin on miRNAs modulation in triple-negative breast cancer cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this