Abstract 2109: Mir-125b confers the resistance of cancer cells to Taxol through suppression of Bak1

Paclitaxel (Taxol) is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents for treatment of cancer patients. Despite impressive initial clinical responses, the majority of patients will eventually develop some degree of resistance to Taxol-based therapy. The mechanisms underlying cancer cells resistance to Taxol are not fully understood. microRNA (miRNA) has emerged to play important roles in tumorigenesis and drug-resistance. However, the interaction between the development of Taxol resistance and miRNA has not been previously explored. In this study, we utilized a miRNA array to screen differentially expressed miRNAs, comparing Taxol-resistant and their Taxol-sensitive parental cells, and investigated the role and mechanisms of miR-125b in Taxol resistance of breast cancer cells. We found that miR-125b was up-regulated in Taxol-resistant cells, with its overexpression causing a marked inhibition of Taxol-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis, and a subsequent increase in the resistance of cancer cells to Taxol. Moreover, we demonstrated that Bak1 is a direct target of miR-125b in breast cancer cells, and down- regulation of Bak1 suppressed Taxol- induced apoptosis and led to an increased resistance to Taxol. Furthermore, restoring the expression of Bak1 by either miR-125b inhibitor or specific siRNA recovered Taxol sensitivity, overcoming miR-125-mediated Taxol resistance. Taken together, our data strongly supports a central role for miR-125b in conferring Taxol resistance through the suppression of Bak1 expression. This finding has important implications in the development of targeted therapeutics for overcoming Taxol resistance in a number of different tumor histologies. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2109.