Involvement of miR-125a in resistance to daunorubicin by inhibiting apoptosis in leukemia cell lines.

In this study, we investigated whether miR-125a participated in the resistance of the leukemia cell lines to the chemotherapeutic agent daunorubicin. Higher expression of miR-125a is correlated with lower treatment response and shorter overall survival in acute leukemia patients. Overexpression of miR-125a induced drug resistance in HL-60, K562, and THP-1cell lines through reducing apoptosis. We also showed that miR-125a mediated daunorubicin resistance in leukemia cell lines through the decrease of GRK2 and Puma which were proved to be direct targets of miR-125a. This study may provide novel therapeutic targets for therapy and improve predictions of therapeutic responses in leukemia to daunorubicin.