MiR-133b contributes to arsenic-induced apoptosis in U251 glioma cells by targeting the hERG channel.

Substantial evidence indicates that the human ether-a-go-go-related gene potassium channel (hERG, Kv11.1, KCNH2) is overexpressed in human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) specimens and plays an essential role in the malignant proliferation of glioma cells. However, its upstream regulator in glioma cells is not fully elucidated. The present study was designed to determine whether the expression of hERG gene is regulated by miR-133b or miR-34a, thereby contributing to the anti-proliferation effect of arsenic trioxide (ATO) in U251 human glioma cells. Real-time polymerase chain reactions (qRT-PCR) and Western blot results demonstrated that hERG mRNA and protein levels were dramatically upregulated in clinical GBM specimens. Conversely, both miR-133b and miR-34a were markedly downregulated in clinical GBM specimens by qRT-PCR. The hERG gene was a direct target of miR-133b and miR-34a by bioinformatics analyses and luciferase reporter assays. Moreover, ATO, which is an emerging chemotherapy drug for glioma disease, remarkably elevated the level of miR-133b, but not miR-34a in U251 glioma cells. The level of miR-133b upstream transactivator serum response factor (SRF) was also suppressed by ATO. The transfection of anti-miR-133b oligonucleotide (AMO-133b) remarkably prevented the decrease of hERG protein by 5 μM ATO treatment for 24 h in U251 cells, whereas anti-miR-34a oligonucleotide (AMO-34a) did not exhibit recuperated effect. Finally, the transient overexpression by miR-133b mimics and treatment with the hERG channel-specific blocker E4031 markedly facilitated the ATO inhibition of proliferation of and induced apoptosis in U251 cells, whereas AMO-miR-133b attenuated these changes. Our study provided the evidence for the pathological role of miR-133b and miR-34a in the development of GBM and thus expanded our understanding of the hERG gene expression and ATO chemotherapeutic roles of miRNAs. Targeting miR-133b/hERG pathway may be a new strategy for chemotherapy of malignant gliomas.