Novel post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation of pro-apoptotic protein BOK and anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1 determine the fate of breast cancer cells to survive or die.

ABSTRACT: Deregulation of apoptosis is central to cancer progression and a major obstacle to effective treatment. The Bcl-2 gene family members play important roles in the regulation of apoptosis and are frequently altered in cancers. One such member is pro-apoptotic protein Bcl-2-related Ovarian Killer (BOK). Despite its critical role in apoptosis, the regulation of BOK expression is poorly understood in cancers. Here, we discovered that miR-296-5p regulates BOK expression by binding to its 3'-UTR in breast cancers. Interestingly, miR-296-5p also regulates the expression of anti-apoptotic protein myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1), which is highly expressed in breast cancers. Our results reveal that Mcl-1 and BOK constitute a regulatory feedback loop as ectopic BOK expression induces Mcl-1, whereas si

SUBMITTER: Onyeagucha B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5689661 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature