Wang_2023_Oncol.Rep_50_152

Imatinib resistance in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a clinical problem. The present study examined the role of NMyc downstream regulatory gene 3 (NDRG3) in imatinib resistance in CML. Quantitative PCR demonstrated that NDRG3 was highly expressed in patients with CML. Cell Counting Kit (CCK)8 experiments proved that NDRG3 promoted the proliferation of K562 CML cells and enhanced imatinib resistance. Dualluciferase assay showed that microRNA (miR)2045p inhibited expression of NDRG3 and immunofluorescence experiments showed that NDRG3 promoted accumulation of betacatenin in the nucleus, thereby increasing the expression of downstream drug resistance and cell cycleassociated factors (cMyc and MDR1). At the same time, cell proliferation experiments showed that betacatenin played a role in cell proliferation and drug resistance. Cotransfection with small interfering (si)betacatenin partially reversed the effect of NDRG3. This finding indicated that NDRG3 plays an important role in imatinib resistance and miR2045p and betacatenin are involved in the biological behavior of NDRG3. The present results provide theoretical support for overcoming drug resistance in CML.