Abstract:
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a neoplasm frequently associated with Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is a head and neck malignancy with remarkable racial and geographical distribution. Additionally, cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) were elevated in NPC patients. Nonetheless, studies to date lack thorough understanding of the association between these cytokines and NPC progression. Therefore, studying how cytokines affect the miRNA expression profile may provide insightful knowledge on mechanisms by which they function. This would help identify potential candidate miRNA targets as potential diagnostic marker or for future therapeutic interventions. Hence, miRNA expression profiles were obtained for TW01 cells treated with 100 pg/mL IL-6, 1000 pg/mL IL-10, 1000 pg/mL TGF-β1 with or without the presence of LMP1 gene. Cell proliferation assay, caspase-3 colorimetric assay and cell cycle analysis were also performed to grasp the effects of these treatments on cell progression. Results showed that cytokines (IL-6, IL-10 and TGF-β1) affected TW01 miRNA expression. In particular, miR-142-5p was frequently dysregulated. In the presence of LMP1, all treatments dysregulated miR-181c. Treatment of IL-6 and TGF-β1 dysregulated miR-181 family, miR-127-5p, miR-15b, miR-155, miR-215, miR-23b, miR-25 and miR-9. The cytokines seem to affect TW01 cell progression in terms of cell proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle analysis in a minimal way. Presence of LMP1 increased the G0/G1 phase cell population substantially. In the presence of LMP1, IL-6 functioned as a survival factor in staurosporine induced apoptosis of TW01 cells. On the other hand, presence of LMP1 during TGF- β1 treatment reduced cell proliferation of TW01 cells.
