Downregulation of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter by cancer-related miR-25

The recently discovered mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) promotes Ca2+ accumulation into the mitochondrial matrix [1, 2]. We identified in silico miR-25 as a cancer-related MCU-targeting microRNA family and demonstrate that its overexpression in HeLa cells drastically reduces MCU levels and mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, while leaving other mitochondrial parameters and cytosolic Ca2+ signals unaffected. In human colon cancers and cancer-derived cells, miR-25 is overexpressed and MCU accordingly silenced. miR-25- dependent reduction of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake correlates with resistance to apoptotic challenges and can be reversed by anti-miR-25 overexpression. Overall, the data demonstrate that microRNA targeting of mitochondrial Ca2+ signaling favors cancer cell survival, thus providing mechanistic insight into the role of mitochondria in tumorigenesis and identifying a novel therapeutic target in neoplasia.