miR-34a expression in human breast cancer is associated with drug resistance

miR-34a is significantly down-regulated in breast cancer tissues and cell lines, which may be correlated with breast cancer multi-drug resistance (MDR). Here, we conducted cell-based experiments and clinical studies in a cohort of 113 breast cancer samples to analyze miR-34a expression and breast cancer MDR. Expression of miR-34a is down-regulated in the multi-drug resistant MDR-MCF-7 cells compared with its parental cells. Patients with miR-34a low expression had poorer overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) in comparison with those with high expression. Transfecting miR-34a mimics into MDR-MCF-7 breast cancer cells led to partial MDR reversal. Compared with the control group, miR-34a significantly reduced both the mRNA and protein expressions of BCL-2, CCND1 and NOTCH1, but no obvious changes were found in P53 or TOP-2a expression. In breast cancer tissue samples, the expression of miR-34a was related to BCL-2, CCND1 and NOTCH1, but not to HER-2, P53 and TOP-2a. Altogether, our findings suggest that miR-34a is an MDR and prognosis indicator of breast cancer, which may participate in the regulation of drug-resistant breast cancer by targeting BCL-2, CCND1, and NOTCH1.