Background: Emerging evidence has noted the versatile functions of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC-Exos) in cancer control. This work aims to probe to function of adipose MSC-Exos (adMSC-Exos) in drug-resistance of breast cancer (BC) cells to cisplatin (DDP) and the molecules involved.
Methods: Parental and DDP-resistant BC cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 were used. All cells were pre-treated with adMSC-Exos. Then, the viability and apoptosis of cells after DDP treatment were determined. Differentially expressed miRNAs after adMSC-exo treatment were screened out. Rescue experiments were conducted by pre-transfecting miR-1236 inhibitor into adMSCs, and the role of miR-1236 in DDP sensitivity was determined. Targeting mRNAs of miR-1236 were predicted by bioinformatics analysis. Altered SLC9A1 expression was administrated to evaluate its function in DDP resistance.
Results: The adMSC-Exos notably increased the sensitivity of either parental or DDP-resistant BC cells to DDP. SLC9A1 was notably highly expressed in DDP-resistant cells but inhibited following adMSC-exo administration. Importantly, miR-1236, which could directly bind to SLC9A1 and suppress its expression, was confirmed as an enriched miRNA in adMSC-Exos. Either inhibition of miR-1236 or upregulation of SLC9A1 blocked the pro-sensitize roles of adMSC-Exos. In addition, the Wnt/β-catenin pathway activity was suppressed by adMSC-Exos but recovered by SLC9A1.
Conclusion: This study evidenced that adMSC-Exos carry miR-1236 to increase sensitivity of BC cells to DDP with the involvement of SLC9A1 downregulation and Wnt/β-catenin inactivation. This finding may offer novel insights into treatment for drug-resistant BC.
Keywords: breast cancer, cisplatin, resistance, adipose mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes, microRNA-1236, SLC9A1