Figure 8
miR-20a promotes tumorigenesis in a xenograft mouse model. (a) Genomic instability (fraction of copy-number altered genome and mutation counts) was detected in TCGA breast cancer patients (P<0.001, n=347). (b) MDA-MB-231 cells stably expressing NC or miR-20a were injected into nude mice. miR-20a promotes tumorigenesis compared with NC at day 8 of injection. (c) miR-20a promotes tumor growth in vivo. Tumor growth curve was determined by measuring the width and length every day (*P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001). (d) Oncogenic miR-20a directly targets ATG16L1, BECN1 and SQSTM1, inhibits autophagic flux and lysosomal proteolytic activity, increases ROS levels and accumulates DNA damage, which likely contribute to genome instability and tumor-initiating capacity.
