Abstract 1186: Identification of p53 regulatory microRNAs

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL Purpose: microRNAs (miRNAs) play very important roles in gene regulation, by interfering with target mRNA stability and/or translation. A number of specific miRNAs have been identified to function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. We originally found that miR-192/-215 constitute part of the p53 tumor suppressor network and can act as effectors and regulators of p53. In this project, we aim to identify more p53-regulatory miRNAs to gain deeper insight into p53 regulation. Experiments: We developed an immunofluorescence-based screen to identify p53-regulatory miRNAs. Briefly, U2OS cells, an osteosarcoma cell line with wild type p53, were transfected with a collection of miRNA expression plasmids. The cellular levels of p53 were then evaluated by subsequent immunofluorescence analysis via high content BD pathway. Results: From our screen, we identified the known p53-regulatory miRNA miR-125b (Le et al., 2009), that can reduce the levels of p53, which in turn validated our screen method. Several other candidates identified from this screen are undergoing study in the context of the p53 tumor suppressor pathway. These miRNAs might be novel therapeutic targets for diagnosis and treatment of human cancers. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1186. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1186