Mechanism of miR-421 Down-regulating Bcl-XL to Induce Apoptosis in Cervical Cancer Hela Cells

WANG Cai-mei; LI Hai-xiang

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-3429.2019.03.013

Abstract：Objective To investigate the expression of miR-421 in cervical cancer and its mechanism of action on apoptosis. Methods The expression of miR-421 in cervical cancer tissues and adjacent normal cervical tissues was detected by Real-time Quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Cervical cancer Hela cells were selected, and miR-421 inhibitor, blank control and miR-421 inhibitor+Bcl-XL were transfected into Hela cells.The flow cytometry was used to detect the effect of miR-421 on the apoptosis of Hela cells.Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to validate the targeted regulatory relationship between miR-421 and B cell lymphoma-XL (Bcl-XL). Western Blot was used to detect the effect of miR-421 on the protein expression of Bcl-XL. Results RT-qPCR showed that the expression of miR-421 in cervical cancer tissues and adjacent normal cervical tissues was 3.13±0.26 and 1.23±0.11, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). The results of flow cytometry showed that the apoptosis rates of miR-421 inhibitor group and control group were (2.63±0.13) ％ and (12.31±0.29) ％, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). The results of dual luciferase reporter assay and Western Blot showed that the luciferase activity of wild-type Bcl-XL was significantly inhibited after inhibition of miR-421 expression, while that of mutant Bcl-XL was not significantly inhibited. After inhibiting the expression of miR-421, the protein expression level of Bcl-XL was also significantly reduced. Conclusion miR-421 induces apoptosis of cervical cancer Hela cells by down-regulating Bcl-XL.