MicroRNA-29b-3p promotes 5-fluorouracil resistance via suppressing TRAF5-mediated necroptosis in human colorectal cancer

Drug resistance in colorectal cancer is a great challenge in clinic. Elucidating the deep mechanism underlying drug resistance will bring much benefit to diagnosis, therapy and prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer. In this study, miR-29b-3p was shown to be involved in resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced necroptosis of colorectal cancer. Further, miR-29b-3p was shown to target a regulatory subunit of necroptosis TRAF5. Rescue of TRAF5 could reverse the effect of miR-29b-3p on 5-FU-induced necroptosis, which was consistent with the role of necrostatin-1 (a specific necroptosis inhibitor). Then it was demonstrated that miR-29b-3p was positively correlated with chemoresistance in colorectal cancer while TRAF5 negatively. In conclusion, it is deduced that miR-29b-3p/TRAF5 signaling axis plays critical role in drug resistance in chemotherapy for colorectal cancer patients by regulating necroptosis. The findings in this study provide us a new target for interfere therapy in colorectal cancer.