microRNA-454 shows anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic activity in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by targeting LRP6.

Our previous work has shown that microRNA-454 (miR-454) can inhibit the growth of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) by blocking the recruitment of bone marrow-derived macrophages. In the present study, we aimed to explore its role in the proliferation, invasion, and pro-angiogenic activity of PDAC cells in vitro and lung metastasis in vivo. PANC-1 and MiaPaCa-2 cells were transfected with a miR-454-expressing plasmid and tested for cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle distribution, invasion, and pro-angiogenic activity. The target gene(s) that mediated the action of miR-454 was identified. The effect of miR-454 overexpression on lung metastasis of PDAC was evaluated in nude mice. Of note, overexpression of miR-454 significantly inhibited PDAC cell proliferation and colony formation and arrests PDAC cells at the G2/M phase. Decreased invasiveness was observed in miR-454-overexpressing PDAC cells. Conditioned media from miR-454-overexpressing PANC-1 cells contained lower levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and had reduced capacity to induce endothelial cell tube-like structure formation. Mechanistically, miR-454 was found to target the mRNA of LRP6 and inhibit the activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in PDAC cells. Ectopic expression of LRP6 significantly reversed the suppressive effects of miR-454 on PDAC cells. In vivo studies confirmed that miR-454-overexpressing PANC-1 cells formed significantly less lung metastases than control cells. Altogether, miR-454 functions as a suppressor in tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis in PDAC, likely through downregulation of LRP6.