MicroRNAs in the miR-106b family regulate p21/CDKN1A and promote cell cycle progression.. Homo sapiens

microRNAs in the miR-106b family are overexpressed in multiple tumor types and are correlated with the expression of genes that regulate the cell cycle. Consistent with these observations, miR-106b family gain of function promotes cell cycle progression, whereas loss of function reverses this phenotype. Microarray profiling uncovers multiple targets of the family, including the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21/CDKN1A. We show that p21 is a direct target of miR-106b and that its silencing plays a key role in miR-106b-induced cell cycle phenotypes. We also show that miR-106b overrides a doxorubicin-induced DNA damage checkpoint. Thus, miR-106b family members contribute to tumor cell proliferation in part by regulating cell cycle progression and by modulating checkpoint functions. Overall design: HCT116 Dicerex5 cells were transfected with microRNAs in six-well plates, and RNA was isolated 10 h after transfection. Transcripts containing the miR-106b family hexamers in their 3' UTRs were identified. By microarray analysis, 103 transcripts that contained miR-106b family complementary hexamers in their 3' UTRs were down-regulated by miR-106b, miR-106a, miR-20b, and miR-17-5p within 10 h of transfection.