Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which is a type of non-coding and single-stranded small molecule RNA, bind either completely or incompletely to 3'-UTR of the target gene mRNA to inhibit mRNA translation or degradation. In our study, we aimed to explore the roles and mechanisms of miR-181c in the apoptosis of RL95-2 human endometrial carcinoma cells. Cell activity and apoptosis were detected by cell counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry (FCM), respectively. Related mRNAs and proteins expression was determined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot assays, respectively. The binding capacity of PTEN-3'-UTR and miR-181c was assessed by luciferase reporter assay. The obtained results suggested that E2 evidently increased the cell activity of RL95-2 cells. In addition, miR-181c inhibitor suppressed the cell viability and enhanced the apoptosis capacity of E2-induced RL95-2 cells and distinctly reduced the miR-181c expression. We also found that miR-181c could bind to PTEN-3'-UTR and miR-181c inhibitor up-regulated the expression level of PTEN in E2-induced RL95-2 cells. Besides, overexpression of PTEN markedly promoted the apoptosis of E2-induced RL95-2 cells through regulating the Bax and Bcl-2 expression, and modulated the expression of AKT pathway, p53 and Cyclin D. In conclusion, our findings revealed that miR-181c affected the estrogen-dependent endometrial carcinoma cell growth by targeting PTEN. The potential effects of miR-181c on the apoptosis of E2-induced RL95-2 cells suggest that miR-181c could be an effective target for endometrial carcinoma therapies.