Polygonatum odoratum lectin induces apoptosis and autophagy by regulation of microRNA-1290 and microRNA-15a-3p in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells

• miR-1290 is down-regulated in POL treated A549 cells.
• GSK-3β is a target of miR-1290.
• miR-15a-3p is up-regulated after POL treatment and over-expression of miR-15a-3p resulted in A549 cells apoptosis and autophagy.
• miR-15a-3p-ROS-p53 pathway is involved in POL-induced apoptosis and autophagy in A549 cells.

Polygonatum odoratum lectin (POL), a mannose-binding specific Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA)-related lectin has been reported with remarkable anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects against several tumor cells. Our previous research revealed that POL can induce apoptosis and autophagy in A549 cells. However, whether microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in POL-induced apoptosis and autophagy in A549 cells has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether miRNAs were involved in POL-induced apoptosis and autophagy in A549 cells. In the present study, we performed microarray analysis on A549 cells to identify altered miRNAs after POL treatment. We found that miR-1290 was down-regulated after POL treatment and down-regulated miR-1290 amplifies POL-induced apoptosis in A549 cells. Moreover, we revealed that glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) was a direct target of miR-1290 and POL treatment could result in Wnt pathway down regulation. We also found that miR-15a-3p was up-regulated after POL treatment and over-expression of miR-15a-3p resulted in A549 cells apoptosis and autophagy. In addition, we confirmed that a miR-15a-3p mediated ROS-p53 pathway was involved in POL-induced apoptosis and autophagy in A549 cells. Taken together, these data provide evidence that POL induces A549 cells apoptosis and autophagy by regulation of miR-1290 and miR-15a-3p.