Exosomal-miR-10a derived from colorectal cancer cells suppresses migration of human lung fibroblasts, and expression of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1β

MicroRNAs (miRs) carried in exosomes serve an important role in the pre-metastatic microenvironment and in intercellular interactions. However, the function of exosomal-miR-10a derived from primary colorectal cancer (CRC) cells on fibroblasts in the lung metastatic microenvironment of patients with CRC remains unclear. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was performed using samples from patients with CRC, and demonstrated that the expression levels of miR-10a were significantly lower in serum and cancer tissue samples from patients with CRC compared with in serum from healthy individuals and paired non-cancerous tissues, respectively. In addition, the expression levels of miR-10a were inversely associated with the invasion depth of CRC. Exosomal-miR-10a derived from CRC cells reduced the proliferative and migratory activities of primary normal human lung fibroblasts (NHLFs), and the expression levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1β in NHLFs. The present study provided insight into the phenotypic alterations of NHLFs induced by exosomal-miR-10a derived from CRC cells, which may aid understanding of the mechanism underlying the process of CRC lung metastasis.