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Cheng L, Zhang X, Huang YZ, Zhu YL, Xu LY, Li Z, Dai XY, Shi L, Zhou XJ, Wei JF, Ding Q. Metformin exhibits antiproliferation activity in breast cancer via miR-483-3p/METTL3/m 6A/p21 pathway. Oncogenesis 2021; 10:7. [PMID: 33431790 PMCID: PMC7801402 DOI: 10.1038/s41389-020-00290-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence suggests that metformin might be a potential candidate for breast cancer treatment. Yet, its relevant molecular mechanisms remain to be fully investigated. We found that metformin could suppress the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) level in breast cancer cells significantly. The latter has an essential role in breast cancer progression and is newly considered as a therapeutic target. In this study, we measured the m6A level by m6A colorimetric analysis and dot blot assay. We then performed qRT-PCR, western blot, MeRIP, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and others to explore the m6A-dependent pathway associated with metformin. In vivo effect of metformin was investigated using a mouse tumorigenicity model. In addition, breast cancer and normal tissues were used to determine the role of METTL3 in breast cancer. Metformin could reduce the m6A level via decreasing METTL3 expression mediated by miR-483-3p in breast cancer. METTL3 is known to be able to promote breast cancer cell proliferation by regulating the p21 expression by an m6A-dependent manner. Metformin can take p21 as the main target to inhibit such effect. To specify, this study exhibited that metformin can inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation through the pathway miR-483-3p/METTL3/m6A/p21. Our findings suggest that METTL3 may be considered as a potential therapeutic target of metformin for breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Cheng
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029, Nanjing, China.
- Department of Breast Surgery, The Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 29 Xinglong Lane, 213003, Changzhou, China.
| | - Xu Zhang
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu-Zhou Huang
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu-Lan Zhu
- Department of Breast Surgery, The Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 29 Xinglong Lane, 213003, Changzhou, China
| | - Ling-Yun Xu
- Department of Breast Surgery, The Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 29 Xinglong Lane, 213003, Changzhou, China
| | - Zhi Li
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029, Nanjing, China
| | - Xin-Yuan Dai
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029, Nanjing, China
| | - Liang Shi
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029, Nanjing, China
| | - Xu-Jie Zhou
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029, Nanjing, China
| | - Ji-Fu Wei
- Research Division of Clinical Pharmacology, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029, Nanjing, China.
| | - Qiang Ding
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029, Nanjing, China.
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