NF1 regulates apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells by targeting MCL1 via miR-142-5p.

NF1 loss confers chemoresistance in multiple cancers. However, the etiology remains largely unknown. Our study aimed to scrutinize the role of NF1 in chemoresistant ovarian cancer and its underlying mechanism. 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay, luciferase reporter assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation, Western blot, quantitative real-time-PCR and rescue experiments were performed to illustrate the antiapoptotic role of NF1 loss and its underlying mechanism. NF1-knockdown ovarian cells showed resistance to cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, NF1 regulated MCL1 expression at protein level. Further dissections suggested that miR-142-5p was regulated by NF1 via its promoter and targeted MCL1. Consistently, miR-142-5p mimic and si-MCL1 can attenuate the antiapoptotic effect of NF1 knockdown. NF1 knockdown endowed ovarian cells with resistance to cisplatin-induced apoptosis by targeting MCL1 via miR-142-5p.