Target to Improve Breast Cancer Treatment
Breast cancer has replaced lung cancer as the most common cancer worldwide, with a high incidence of drug resistance and poor survival rates. A commonly used and principally effective chemotherapy drug for advanced breast cancer is paclitaxel (PTX). However, its effectiveness can be limited by the development of drug resistance.
In this context, we should pay attention to autophagy and microRNAs. Autophagy is the process by which cells break down and recycle damaged organelles and molecules. It is important for cell metabolism and homeostasis and influences tumor development and also metastasis. In addition, autophagy and microRNAs also have been shown to play a key role in chemoresistance. However, the role of autophagy in PTX-resistant cancer is not yet fully understood. Now researchers propose an essential target for a microRNA (miR-142-3p) to inhibit autophagy.
Potential target to inhibit autophagy and improve paclitaxel treatment in breast cancer
Their study discusses the potential role of miR-142-3p in improving the sensitivity of cancer cells to the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (PTX). First, let’s take a quick look at the methods:
A PTX-resistant breast cancer cell line was constructed, and miR-142-3p and G protein beta polypeptide 2 (GNB2) were filtered out using RNA sequencing and protein microarray analysis.
By using RNA sequencing, they found that miR-142-3p expression was lower in drug-resistant breast cancer cells compared to non-resistant cells. Moreover, they noted that increased miR-142-3p expression inhibited the viability, migration, and autophagic flux of drug-resistant cells, while promoting apoptosis and sensitivity to PTX treatment. Mechanistic studies revealed that miR-142-3p targeted the protein GNB2, which led to activation of the AKT-mTOR pathway. The results suggest that GNB2 may be a potential target for miR-142-3p to inhibit autophagy and improve PTX treatment in breast cancer.