miR-26a and miR-26b inhibit esophageal squamous cancer cell proliferation through suppression of c-MYC pathway

Dysregulation of c-Myc is one of the most common abnormalities in human malignancies, including esophageal cancer, one of the worlds most lethal cancers. MicroRNA-26 family, including miR-26a and miR-26b, is transcriptionally suppressed by c-MYC. Our previous microarray data indicated a decreased-expression of miR-26 family in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, its roles in c-MYC pathway regulation and esophageal cancer tumorigenesis have yet not been elucidated. In this study, we expanded the detection of miR-26 expression in ESCC patients and found that the great majority of ESCC tissues showed an >50% reduction, even in the early-staged tumor. Furthermore, ectopic expression of miR-26a or miR-26b induced ESCC cell growth inhibition and G1 phase arrest. MYC binding protein (MYCBP) was identified as a direct target of miR-26. MiR-26 could dramatically decrease MYCBP mRNA and protein levels, as well as the expression of luciferase carrying MYCBP 3-untranslated region. Moreover, knock-down of MYCBP mimicked the effect of miR-26. More importantly, miR-26 overexpression could downregulate a series of c-MYC target genes as MYCBP silence did. Taken together, these results indicate that miR-26 family can suppress esophageal cancer cell proliferation by inhibition of MYCBP, subsequently downregulate c-MYC pathway. Besides, we also found that reduction of miR-26 expression in ESCC was not due to DNA methylation. Hence, our study reveals a novel feedback loop for c-MYC pathway and implicates miR-26 as a potential target for prevention and treatment of esophageal cancer.