Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although cisplatin is an effective chemotherapeutic drug that is commonly used for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment, the drug resistance usually occurs during the long-term use of it. It is urgent to develop strategies to reduce the resistance of NSCLC cells to cisplatin. METHODS: Cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cell lines (PC9/R and A549/R) were acquired through long-term exposure of PC9 and A549 cells to cisplatin. QRT-PCR analysis was performed to compare the expression of miR-140 between routine NSCLC cells and cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cells. CCK-8 assay was used to evaluate the effect of miR-140 on the sensitivity of PC9/R and A549/R to cisplatin. Western blot assay and luciferase reporter assay were used to confirm the regulation of miR-140 on SIRT1. Western blot and flow cytometry analysis were performed to evaluate the effect of miR-140 on the apoptosis pathway induced by cisplatin. RESULTS: PC9/R and A549/R exhibited obviously lower sensitivity compared to their parental PC9 and A549 cells, respectively. Furthermore, PC9/R and A549/R cells expressed significantly lower levels of miR-140 compared to their parental PC9 and A549 cells, respectively. However, transfection with miR-140 mimics significantly resensitized the PC9/R and A549/R to cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity. In the mechanism research, we confirmed that SIRT1 was overexpressed and was targeted by miR-140 in PC9/R and A549/R. Furthermore, overexpression of SIRT1 was responsible for the resistance to cisplatin in PC9/R and A549/R cells. Transfection with miR-140 was able to inhibit the expression of SIRT1 and thus inhibited the SIRT1/ROS/JNK pathway. As a result, the PC9/R and A549/R cells restored the sensitivity to cisplatin-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSION: MiR-140 resensitizes cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cells to cisplatin treatment through the SIRT1/ROS/JNK pathway.