The role of miRNA in regulation of AXL, DAPK1, NFIB gene expression in breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is characterized by epigenetic disorders, which lead to dysregulation of protein-coding gene expression; together these result in development of a tumor. The goal of the study was to search for new miRNAs that are potentially involved in regulation of the expression of three protein-encoding genes (AXL, DAPK1, NFIB) associated with regulation of apoptosis and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer. Quantitative PCR was used to determine changes in the expression of three protein-coding genes (AXL, DAPK1, NFIB) and three miRNAs (miR-127-5p, -132-3p, -9-5p) that had been predicted to be regulators by miRWalk 2.0 algorithms. Statistically significant negative correlations between changes in miRNA and mRNA expression were determined for the following pairs: miR-127-5p – DAPK1 (Rs = –0.503, p = 0.001) and miR-9-5p – DAPK1 (Rs = –0.335, p = 0.040). Therefore, the study showed a potential role of two miRNAs in regulation of the DAPK1 gene expression, an activator of various apoptotic pathways and a negative regulator of EMT. This result is fundamentally important and can be used to develop targeted therapies for breast cancer.