Alterations of microRNAs are associated with impaired growth of MCF-7 breast cancer cells induced by inhibition of casein kinase 2

摘要

Background and aim: Protein Kinase (casein kinase 2, CK2) is a pleiotropic serine-threonine kinase that is frequently dysregulated in many human tumors; microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs which play important roles in human cancers. This study aimed to investigate the role of CK2 and miRNA expression in breast cancer. Methods: Casein kinase 2 in MCF-7 breast cancer cell line was inhibited by the CK2 inhibitor TBB (4,5,6,7-tetrabromobenzotriazole), then cell proliferation was studied using MTT assay, and cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry. The alteration of microRNAs expression profile was determined by microarray technology, followed by RT-PCR confirmation. Results: Here, we for the first time showed that inhibition of CK2 in MCF-7 breast cancer cells causes suppressed cell growth, which was related with dysregulation of the miRNA profile and altered expression. CK2 inhibition induced the up-regulated expression of 17 miRNAs and 10 down-regulated microRNAs which contributed to the impaired growth, inhibited cell cycle progress and increased apoptosis of MCF-7 cells by a CK2 inhibitor. Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential role of dysregulated miRNA expression regulated by CK2 in breast cancer.