Berberine promotes XIAP-mediated cells apoptosis by upregulation of miR-24-3p in acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Jian Liu, Zhiwei Chen, Yun-Ping Cui, Huixia Wei, Zhenjing Zhu, Fengxia Mao, Yingchao Wang, Yufeng Liu
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Berberine (BBR) has gained considerable attention because of its anti-tumor activity. BBR can induce apoptosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells through the MDM2/p53 pathway. However, the effects of BBR on those ALL patients with p53 deficiency remain unclear. RESULTS: studies, BBR remarkably alleviated leukemia conditions in a EU4 xenograft mouse model, whereas inhibition of miR-24-3p significantly reversed the effects of BBR in the leukemia condition. CONCLUSIONS: miR-24-3p/PIM-2/XIAP signaling contributes to BBR-mediated leukemia mitigation in p53-defect ALL, which should be further developed as a treatment strategy in ALL patients with p53 deficiency. METHODS: Cell viability and apoptosis were determined using CCK-8 and TUNEL assays, respectively. The dual-luciferase reporter gene system was used to determine the interaction between miR-24-3p and 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs) of PIM-2.