Affiliations: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Liang-Qing Li, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350005, China. E-mail:lqli@msn.com
Abstract: Cancer cells usually utilize glucose as a carbon source for aerobic
glycolysis, which is named as ``Warburg effect''. Recent studies have shown
that MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of short and non-coding RNAs, play a role
in the regulation of metabolic reprograming in cancer cells. In the present
study, we report that miR-181b negatively regulates glycolysis in gastric
cancer cells. Over-expression of miR-181b mimics reduces the glucose uptake
and lactate production, while increasing the cellular ATP levels in NCI-N87
and MGC80-3 cells. At the molecular level, miR-181b directly inhibits the
expression level of hexokinase 2 (HK2), a key enzyme that catalyzes the
first step of glycolysis, through targeting its 3'-untranslated region. In
addition, miR-181b represses cell proliferation and migration and is
dramatically down-regulated in human gastric cancers. Therefore, our data
disclose a novel function of miR-181b in reprogramming the metabolic process
in gastric cancer.
