Malignant melanoma is recalcitrant to most existing chemotherapies, and aberrant expression of miR-211 plays prominent roles in progression of melanoma.,However, the trigger mechanism of aberrant miR-211 expression in melanoma is still elusive.,We used qRT-PCR to test miR-211 expression.,Cell viability assay and mouse xenograft assay were performed to examine the role of miR-211 on the sensitivity of melanoma cells to cisplatin.,The epigenetic modification of miR-211 promoter was assess by DNA methylation analysis and DAC treatment.,In this study, decreased miR-211 expression was detected.,Bisulfite sequencing PCR showed that DNA hypermethylation contributed to the downregulation of miR-211 in melanoma tissues.,In melanoma cells, overexpressed 211 could enhance the anticancer effect of cisplatin and restoration of miR-211 rendered susceptibility to cisplatin in cisplatin-resistant cells.,And the same result was showed in vivo by mouse xenograft assay.,What is more, DAC treatment could increase miR-211 expression and EZH2 expression was increased in cisplatin-resistant cells.,MiR-211 could be transcriptionally repressed by EZH2 mediated promoter methylation.,Taken together, our findings revealed that epigenetic modification of miR-211 governed melanoma cell chemosensitivity and were involved in the progression of tumorigenesis.
Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) plays a key role in the angiogenesis of human skin.,Elevated levels of VEGFA are associated with several pathological conditions, including chronic inflammatory skin diseases and several types of skin cancer.,In particular, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin, the second most common skin cancer in the general population, is characterized by invasive growth, pronounced angiogenesis and elevated levels of VEGFA.,The processing, turnover and production of VEGFA are extensively regulated at the post-transcriptional level, both by RNA-binding proteins and microRNAs (miRNAs).,In the present study, we identified a new miRNA recognition element in a downstream conserved region of the VEGFA 3′-UTR.,We confirmed the repressive effect of miR-361-5p on this element in vitro, identifying the first target for this miRNA.,Importantly, we found that miR-361-5p levels are inversely correlated with VEGFA expression in SCC and in healthy skin, indicating that miR-361-5p could play a role in cancers.