MicroRNA-485-5p targets keratin17 to regulate pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and invasion via the FAK / SRC / ERK pathway

Background: It is crucial to probe into the biological effect and mechanism of miRNA-485-5p regulating keratin 17 (KRT17) in pancreatic cancer (PC) to understand its pathogenesis and identify potential biological targets. Methods: The bioinformatics means were used to evaluate the clinical significance of KRT17 expression in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. TargetScan database analysis in conjunction with dual luciferase and RNA Immunoprecipitation (RIP) experiments was used to probe the interaction relationship of miRNA-485-5p with KRT17. The expression of miRNA-485-5p and KRT17 in PC tissue and cancer cell lines was detected by Q-PCR paired with western blot assay. The biological function of miRNA-485-5p in regulating KRT17 was investigated in the PC cell line via gene silencing/overexpression technique. A western blot experiment was utilized to investigate the regulatory effect of KRT17 on cell cycle-related proteins and the FAK/Src/ERK signal pathway. Results: The level of KRT17 was increased in PC tissues and this significantly decreased the survival rate of PC patients. TargetScan in combination with dual luciferase and RIP experiments verified the miRNA-485-5p target KRT17. The expression of KRT17 was high in the PC cell line, although the expression of miRNA-485-5p was low. Silencing KRT17 or overexpression of miRNA-485-5p significantly inhibited PC cell viability, proliferation, invasion, and colony formation, while promoting apoptosis. Overexpression of KRT17 drastically reversed the function of miRNA-485-5p. The silenced KRT17 remarkably downregulated the expression of cyclinD1, Cyclin Dependent Kinase 1 (CDK1), CDK2, Phospho-Focal Adhesion Kinase (p-FAK), p-Src, and p-ERK proteins in the PC cells. Conclusion: Generally, an essential signaling cascade of miRNA-485-5p/KRT17/FAK/Src/ERK influences the biological functions of PC cells.