Downregulation of miR-130b~301b cluster is mediated by aberrant promoter methylation and impairs cellular senescence in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: Numerous DNA-damaging cellular stresses, including oncogene activation and DNA-damage response (DDR), may lead to cellular senescence. Previous observations linked microRNA deregulation with altered senescent patterns, prompting us to investigate whether epigenetic repression of microRNAs expression might disrupt senescence in prostate cancer (PCa) cells. METHODS: Differential methylation mapping in prostate tissues was carried using Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. After validation of methylation and expression analyses in a larger series of prostate tissues, the functional role of the cluster miR-130b~301b was explored using in vitro studies testing cell viability, apoptosis, invasion and DNA damage in prostate cancer cell lines. Western blot and RT-qPCR were performed to support those observations. RESULTS: We found that the miR-130b~301b cluster directs epigenetic activation of cell cycle inhibitors required for DDR activation, thus stimulating the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Furthermore, overexpression of miR-130b~301b cluster markedly reduced the malignant phenotype of PCa cells. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, these data demonstrate that miR-130b~301b cluster overexpression might effectively induce PCa cell growth arrest through epigenetic regulation of proliferation-blocking genes and activation of cellular senescence. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13045-017-0415-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.