Down-Regulation of miR-27a Might Reverse Multidrug Resistance of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background So far, the miRNAs involved in multidrug resistance of esophageal cancer have not been reported. Aims and Methods Here we have firstly investigated the roles of miR-27a in multidrug resistance of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma using MTT assay, flow cytometry assay, and reporter gene assay, etc. Results Down-regulation of miR-27a could confer sensitivity of both P-glycoprotein-related and P-glycoprotein-non-related drugs on esophageal cancer cells, and might promote ADR-induced apoptosis, accompanied by increased accumulation and decreased releasing amount of ADR. Down-regulation of miR-27a could significantly decrease the expression of P-glycoprotein, Bcl-2, and the transcription of the multidrug resistance gene 1, but up-regulate the expression of Bax. Conclusions MiR-27a might play important roles in multidrug resistance of esophageal cancer. The further study of the biological functions of miR-27a might be helpful for developing possible strategies to treat esophageal cancer.