The Expression of miR-34c-5p Induces G0/G1 Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in SW480 Colon Cancer Cell

Expression of the miR-34 family, including miR-34a/b/c, has been reported to inhibit the progression of several cancer types by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis.

Therefore, we attempted to investigate the effect of SW480 cell transfection with miR-34c-5p mimics on cell proliferation.

To do this, SW480 colon cancer cell line was transfected with miR-34c-5p mimics, scramble sequence, and the vehicle in PBS mock, and then cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay. The population of cells in cell cycle phases, ROS generation, and apoptosis rate were evaluated by flow cytometry. Additionally, we determined the relative expression of apoptotic genes through real-time PCR technique.

We observed a reduced proliferation rate in cells transfected with miR-34c-5p compared to the control group (P <0.05). We also found that miR-34c-5p caused a significant increase in apoptosis rate (P < 0.001) and cell cycle arrest in the G0 and G1 phases (P < 0.05). Moreover, a significant increase was reported in the expression of pro-apoptotic genes, including BAK (P < 0.001), BAX and BAD (P < 0.0001), and CASPASE 7/9 (P < 0.0001).

However, no remarkable difference was seen in the expression of MCL1, BCL2, and CASPASE 3 genes. Our conclusion is that overexpression of miR-34c-5p could be considered a promising approach for colorectal cancer treatment.