The down-regulation of miR-125b in chronic lymphocytic leukemias leads to metabolic adaptation of cells to a transformed state

AbstractMiR-125b-1 maps at 11q24, a chromosomal region close to the epicenter of 11q23 deletions in chronic lymphocytic leukemias (CLLs). Our results establish that both aggressive and indolent CLL patients show reduced expression of miR-125b. Overexpression of miR-125b in CLL-derived cell lines resulted in the repression of many transcripts encoding enzymes implicated in cell metabolism. Metabolomics analyses showed that miR-125b overexpression modulated glucose, glutathione, lipid, and glycerolipid metabolism. Changes on the same metabolic pathways also were observed in CLLs. We furthermore analyzed the expression of some of miR-125b–target transcripts that are potentially involved in the…