Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

MiR-22 alleviates the proliferation and metastasis of melanoma by targeting FASN

Jun Qiu¹, Yanhua Yi², Yong Miao¹, Zhiqi Hu¹

¹Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China; ²Department of Aesthetic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.

For correspondence:- Zhiqi Hu Email: huzhiqidr163@i.smu.edu.cn Tel:+862061641114

Accepted: 26 September 2022 Published: 28 October 2022

Citation: Qiu J, Yi Y, Miao Y, Hu Z. MiR-22 alleviates the proliferation and metastasis of melanoma by targeting FASN. Trop J Pharm Res 2022; 21(10):2043-2048 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v21i10.1

© 2022 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the role of microRNA-22 (miR-22) in the development of malignant melanoma, and the underlying mechanism.

Methods: Potential miRNAs binding fatty acid synthase (FASN) were predicted by bioinformatics analysis, out of which miR-22 was selected. Their binding relationship was confirmed using dual-luciferase reporter assay. MicroRNA-22 and FASN levels in 40 clinical samples of melanoma were determined, and the correlation of the expression between miR-22 and FASN was assessed by Pearson correlation test. To uncover the role of miR-22 in regulating cell phenotypes of malignant melanoma, M21 and A375 cells were transfected with miRNA-NC, miR-22 mimics or miR-22 mimics + FASN-OE (FASN-over expression), respectively. Proliferative and metastatic abilities in each group were determined using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), 5-Ethynyl-2’- deoxyuridine (EdU) and Transwell assay, respectively.

Results: MiR-22 was the target gene binding the oncogene, FASN. Downregulated miR-22 and upregulated FASN were observed in melanoma tissues, showing a negative correlation between them. An overexpression of miR-22 significantly inhibited proliferative, migratory and invasive capacities in M21 and A375 cells (p < 0.05). Notably, overexpression of FASN abolished the inhibitory effects of miR-22 on proliferative and metastatic abilities in melanoma.

Conclusion: The level of expression of miR-22 in the malignant melanoma samples is low. Overexpression of miR-22 inhibits the proliferative and metastatic abilities of melanoma by targeting FASN and negatively regulating its level. Thus, miR-22 may be a promising therapeutic target of melanoma.

Keywords: Malignant melanoma, MicroRNA-22, Fatty acid synthase, Proliferation, Metastasis