Restoration of miR-124 serves as a promising therapeutic approach in CRC by affecting CDK6 which is itself a prognostic and diagnostic factor

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. 5 Fluorouracil and Oxaliplatin are two common chemotherapeutic agents are used in patients with CRC. miR-124 and CDK6 are two notable genes that have been shown to play important roles in various cancers, including colorectal cancer. Objective In this study, we investigated the expression of miR-124 and CDK6 in patients with colorectal cancer. Then, the effect of miR-124 and chemotherapeutic drugs on CDK6 expression and cell viability was assessed in the SW480 CRC cell line. Also, the relationship between miR-124 and CDK6 with the clinicopathological features of the patients was evaluated. Materials and methods Materials and Methods: Colorectal cancer and its corresponding non-tumor tissues were collected from 50 patients the relative expression of miR-124 and CDK6 was assessed by Real-Time PCR. The relationship between the pathologic features of the patients and the target genes was also evaluated. In addition, the relative expression of CDK6 in response to miR-124 and its combination with 5-FU and Oxaliplatin was evaluated in the SW480 cell line by Real-Time PCR and Western blot analysis. Besides, the effect of miR-124 and chemotherapeutic drugs on cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Results miR-124 was down-regulated in CRC patients while CDK6 was up-regulated in CRC tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor healthy controls. In addition, CDK6 was significantly correlated with pathologic features of patients including stage and differentiation. Moreover, CDK6 expression and cell viability were attenuated in response to miR-124, 5-FU, and Oxaliplatin in the SW480 cell line; however, the effect was prominent when miR-124 was transfected with chemotherapeutic drugs. Conclusion The results of our study suggest that miR-124 reinforcement may act as a promising therapeutic approach for CRC by affecting CDK6. Nevertheless, it may act as a supreme therapeutic method when combines with chemotherapy drugs. Besides, CDK6 may be used as a diagnostic marker to determine the clinical outcome of patients with colorectal cancer.