Downregulation of Bcl-2 expression by mir-34a mediates palmitate-induced min6 cells apoptosis

Recent studies have demonstrated that the expression of mir-34a is significantly upregulated and associated with cell apoptosis in pancreatic β-cell treated with palmitate. nevertheless,the underlying detailed mechanism is largely unknown. here,we showed that mir-34a was significantly induced in min6 pancreatic β-cell upon palmitate treatment. elevated mir-34a promoted min6 cell apoptosis. intriguingly,ectopic expression of mir-34a lowered the expression of bcl-2,an antiapoptotic protein. luciferase reporter assay indicated the direct interaction of mir-34a with the bcl-2 3′-utr. moreover,downregulated expression of bcl-2 induced by palmitate could be restored by inhibition of mir-34a. we conclude that direct suppression of bcl-2 by mir-34a accounts for palmitate-induced increased apoptosis rate in pancreatic β-cell. © 2014 xiaojie lin et al.