Inhibition of microRNA miR-92a induces apoptosis and necrosis in human acute promyelocytic leukemia

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous non-coding RNAs, 19-25 nucleotides in length, involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in a considerable majority of mRNAs. Different aspects of cellular activities like cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation are regulated by miRNAs through their regulatory effects on particular RNA species. In many tumors, up- or down-regulation of different miRNAs has been reported. In acute myeloid leukemia, up-regulation of miR-92a has been reported in human in-vitro studies.

We performed inhibition of miR-92a in an acute promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL-60), using locked nucleic acid (LNA) Antagomir. At different time points after LNA-anti-miR92a transfection, qRT-Real-Time-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Annexin-V/Propidium Iodide staining were performed and the data was analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests.

The assessment of the apoptosis and necrosis indicates that miR-92a inhibition can decrease the viable HL-60 cells and this is at least partially due to induction of apoptosis.

These findings suggest the inhibition of miR-92a as a novel approach for treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL).