Antileukemic Effects of Anti-miR-146a, Anti-miR-155, Anti-miR-181a, and Prednisolone on Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Prednisolone has been used frequently in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, to overcome the challenges of the treatment, the development of additional therapies is of great importance. Small, non-protein-coding RNAs, namely, microRNAs (miRNAs), are critical epigenetic regulators with physiological and pathological importance. This study is aimed at determining the effects of miR-146a, miR-155, and miR-181a inhibition with their corresponding anti-miRs on both leukemic and healthy cells, individually and with prednisolone. Leukemic (SUP-B15) and healthy B-lymphocyte (NCI-BL 2171) cell lines were used in this study. A total of 12 experimental groups included individual and combinational silenced ALL-associated miRNAs (hsa-miR-155, hsa-miR-146a, and hsa-miR-181a) and their combination with prednisolone. Cytotoxicity, proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis analyses were performed by using WST-1, trypan blue, APC-BrdU, Annexin V, and JC-1 methods in each study group, respectively. To control the effectiveness of anti-miR transfection and prednisolone application, miRNA expression analysis was performed from all groups. Anti-miR application was effective on the viability, proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis of leukemia cells, and this effect was increased with prednisolone administration. In addition, this activity was found to be very low on healthy cells. In conclusion, anti-miR applications may have the potential for clinical use of adjuvant to or as an alternative to conventional therapies for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.