Abstract
Exosomes are membrane-enclosed nanovesicles that shuttle active cargoes, such as mRNAs and microRNAs (miRNAs), between different cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are able to migrate to the tumor sites and exert complex functions over tumor progress. We investigated the effect of human bone marrow-derived MSC (BMSC)-derived exosomal miR-143 on prostate cancer. During the co-culture experiments, we disrupted exosome secretion by the inhibitor GW4869 and overexpressed exosomal miR-143 using miR-143 plasmid. miR-143 was involved in the progression of prostate cancer via trefoil factor 3 (TFF3). Moreover, miR-143 was downregulated while TFF3 was upregulated in prostate cancer cells and tissues, and miR-143 was found to specifically inhibit TFF3 expression. Human MSC-derived exosomes enriched miR-143 and transferred miR-143 to prostate cancer cells. Furthermore, elevated miR-143 or exosome-miR-143 or silencing TFF3 inhibited the expression of TFF3, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and MMP-9 and PC3 cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumor growth, whereas it promoted apoptosis. In conclusion, hMSC-derived exosomal miR-143 directly and negatively targets TFF3 to suppress prostate cancer.