MiR-3653 blocks autophagy to inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer cells by targeting the autophagy-regulatory genes ATG12 and AMBRA1

Metastasis is the main cause of tumor-associated death and mainly responsible for treatment failure of breast cancer. Autophagy accelerates tumor metastasis. In our work, we aimed to investigate the possibility of microRNAs (miRNAs) which participate in the regulation of autophagy to inhibit tumor metastasis.

Our findings suggested that miR-3653 inhibits the autophagy process by targeting ATG12 and AMBRA1 , thereby inhibiting EMT, and provided a new idea and target for the metastasis of breast cancer.

MiRNA array and comprehensive analysis were performed to identify miRNAs which participated in the regulation of autophagy to inhibit tumor metastasis. The expression levels of miR-3653 in breast cancer tissues and cells were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. In vivo and in vitro assays were conducted to determine the function of miR-3653. The target genes of miR-3653 were detected by a dual luciferase reporter activity assay and Western blot. The relationship between miR-3653 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was assessed by Western blot. Student's t -test was used to analyze the difference between any two groups, and the difference among multiple groups was analyzed with one-way analysis of variance and a Bonferroni post hoc test.

miR-3653 was downregulated in breast cancer cells with high metastatic ability, and high expression of miR-3653 blocked autophagic flux in breast cancer cells. Clinically, low expression of miR-3653 in breast cancer tissues (0.054 ± 0.013 vs . 0.131 ± 0.028, t = 2.475, P = 0.014) was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (0.015 ± 0.004 vs . 0.078 ± 0.020, t = 2.319, P = 0.023) and poor prognosis ( P < 0.001). miR-3653 ameliorated the malignant phenotypes of breast cancer cells, including proliferation, migration (MDA-MB-231: 0.353 ± 0.013 vs . 1.000 ± 0.038, t = 16.290, P < 0.001; MDA-MB-468: 0.200 ± 0.014 vs . 1.000 ± 0.043, t = 17.530, P < 0.001), invasion (MDA-MB-231: 0.723 ± 0.056 vs . 1.000 ± 0.035, t = 4.223, P = 0.013; MDA-MB-468: 0.222 ± 0.016 vs . 1.000 ± 0.019, t = 31.050, P < 0.001), and colony formation (MDA-MB-231: 0.472 ± 0.022 vs . 1.000 ± 0.022, t = 16.620, P < 0.001; MDA-MB-468: 0.650 ± 0.040 vs . 1.000 ± 0.098, t = 3.297, P = 0.030). The autophagy-associated genes autophagy-related gene 12 ( ATG12 ) and activating molecule in beclin 1-regulated autophagy protein 1 ( AMBRA1 ) are target genes of miR-3653. Further studies showed that miR-3653 inhibited EMT by targeting ATG12 and AMBRA1 . Conclusions: Our findings suggested that miR-3653 inhibits the autophagy process by targeting ATG12 and AMBRA1 , thereby inhibiting EMT, and provided a new idea and target for the metastasis of breast cancer.