Alteration in Mir-21/PTEN Expression Modulates Gefitinib Resistance in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Resistance to TKI treatment is a major obstacle in effective treatment of NSCLC. Besides EGFR mutation status, the mechanisms involved are largely unknown. Some evidence supports a role for microRNA 21 in modulating drug sensitivity of chemotherapy but its role in NSCLC TKI resistance still remains unexplored. This study aimed to investigate whether NSCLC miR-21 mediated resistance to TKIs also results from Pten targeting. Here, we show miR-21 promotes cancer by negatively regulating Pten expression in human NSCLC tissues: high miR-21 expression levels were associated with shorter DFS in 47 NSCLC patients; high miR-21/low Pten expression levels indicated a poor TKI clinical response and shorter overall survival in another 46 NSCLC patients undergoing TKI treatment. In vitro assays showed that miR-21 was up-regulated concomitantly to down-regulation of Pten in pc-9/GR cells in comparison with pc-9 cells. Moreover, over-expression of miR-21 significantly decreased gefitinib sensitivity by down-regulating Pten expression and activating Akt and ERK pathways in pc-9 cells, while miR-21 knockdown dramatically restored gefitinib sensitivity of pc-9/GR cells by up-regulation of Pten expression and inactivation of AKT and ERK pathways, in vivo and in vitro. We propose alteration of miR-21/Pten expression as a novel mechanism for TKI resistance in NSCLC cancer. Our findings provide a new basis for using miR 21/Pten-based therapeutic strategies to reverse gefitinib resistance in NSCLC.