FOXO1 and hsa-microRNA-204-5p affect the biologic behavior of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.

RNA molecules and targeting microRNA (miRNA) have been reported as novel focuses in recent research on breast cancer. This study aimed to probe the expression of FOXO1 in the MDA-MB-231 cell line and to explore the target effects of FOXO1 with hsa-microRNA-204-5p (miR-204) on the biologic behavior of MDA-MB-231 cells. The expression of FOXO1 mRNA and protein in MDA-MB-231 cells were derived and verified from the public databases, literature, and experimental assays, then the downregulation of FOXO1 was confirmed in the MDA-MB-231 cell line. The target binding of FOXO1 and miR-204 was predicted by miRWalk and confirmed by luciferase reporter assays. MiR-204 targeted the 3' untranslated region of FOXO1 and reduced FOXO1 expression in miR-204-transfected cells, resulting in cell growth amplification but inhibition of cell migration and apoptosis, which were assessed using the MTT method, wound healing assays, and flow cytometry, respectively. The protein levels of serine-threonine kinase (AKT), c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular regulatory protein kinase (ERK), and the phosphorylated protein kinases (P-AKT, P-JNK, and P-ERK) were measured by western blot. It was found that AKT, JNK, and ERK remained constant, but P-AKT, P-JNK, and P-ERK were upregulated after miR-204 transfection. In summary, the expression of FOXO1 was downregulated in MDA-MB-231 cells; and the target binding of miR-204 and FOXO1 affected phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal pathways, leading to different alterations of cellular activity in MDA-MB-231 cells.