hsa-MicroRNA-28-5p Inhibits Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Cell Proliferation by Downregulating 14-3-3 zeta Expression

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) participate in the comprehensive biological process of several cancer types. In our former study, we found that hsa-microRNA- (miR-)28-5p was downregulated, but tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activating protein zeta (14-3-3 zeta or YWHAZ) was upregulated in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) tissues. We predicted that YWHAZ was a target gene for hsa-miR- 28-5p using bioinformatics analysis. Our goal was to reveal the role of hsa-miR-28-5p in DLBCL. YWHAZ was tested by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues of 137 DLBCL tissues, and the expression of hsa-miR-28-5p and YWHAZ was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 15 fresh and frozen DLBCL tissues. To study the functional roles of the downregulated hsa-miR-28-5p in DLBCL, a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was conducted to estimate cell proliferation. Transient transfection of miRNA mimics was performed to overexpress hsa-miR-28-5p, and flow cytometry was performed to examine cell apoptosis and cell cycle progression. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was employed to explore the relationship between hsa-miR-28-5p and YWHAZ. Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used to investigate the function of hsa-miR-28-5p in YWHAZ expression. hsa-miR-28-5p was found to be significantly downregulated in DLBCL tissues and cell lines. Functional studies showed that hsa-miR-28-5p overexpression inhibited cell viability and proliferation, and YWHAZ was predicted to be a target of hsa-miR-28-5p. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, Western blotting, and qRT-PCR verified that hsa-miR-28-5p negatively regulated YWHAZ expression by directly targeting its 3 ' untranslated regions in DLBCL cells. hsa-miR-28-5p may suppress the growth of DLBCL cells by inhibiting YWHAZ expression. These findings could provide novel targets for DLBCL diagnosis and therapy.