Chemotherapy constitutes one of the chief supplementary methods in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin are classic chemotherapeutic drugs that have been widely used for NPC treatment. Although the aberrant expression of protein-coding genes has been observed after chemotherapy, the regulatory mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a newly identified class of small regulatory RNAs involved in multiple biological processes and metabolic regulation, including the initiation, progression and metastasis of human cancers. In this study, using a label-free high-throughput microRNA array technology, the stacking-hybridized universal tag (SHUT) assay, we show that 5-FU in combination with cisplatin significantly alters the global expression profile of miRNAs in CNE cells. After 48 h of treatment with a low dose [10% inhibitory concentration (IC10)] of 5-FU and/or cisplatin, numerous key miRNAs were shown to be regulated. Compared to the 431 miRNAs detected in the control cells, 184 miRNAs were significantly expressed in the 5-FU-treated cells, while 336 miRNAs were expressed in the cisplatin-treated cells and 13 miRNAs in the cells treated with the combination of both drugs. The majority of these miRNAs are associated with cancer development, progression and metastasis. This is the first time that miRNA expression profiles in the CNE cell line are shown. Our findings elucidate a potential mechanism involved in the chemotherapy of NPC and provide new clues for the treatment of NPC.
Keywords: nasopharyngeal carcinoma; CNE cell line; microRNA; microarray; 5-fluorouracil; cisplatin; chemotherapy.