Expression of microRNA-935 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues and cells and its effects on cell proliferation and invasion

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of microRNA (miRNA, miR)-935 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues and cells and explore its effects on proliferation and invasion ability of ESCC cells. Methods Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) was employed to detect the expression of miR-935 in ESCC tissues and cells as well as normal esophageal tissues and cells. MiR-935 mimic, miR-935 inhibitor and negative control miRNA were utilized to transfect ESCC EC1 cells, and FQ-PCR was utilized to detect the expression of miR-935 48 h after transfection. Furthermore, cell proliferation and invasion ability was analyzed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and Transwell chamber after transfection. Results Expression of miR-935 in ESCC tissues and cells was significantly higher than that in normal esophageal tissues and cells, and the differences were statically significant (t=8.349, P=0.000). In addition, expression of miR-935 in metastatic ESCC patients were evidently higher than that in non-metastatic ESCC patients, and the differences were statically significant (t=4.264, P=0.000). MiR-935 mimic markedly upregulated the expression level of miR-935 in EC1 cells, whereas miR-935 inhibitor significantly downregulated the expression level of miR-935 in EC1 cells. Further investigation revealed that miR-935 upregulation promoted the proliferation and invasion ability of EC1 cells, conversely, miR-935 downregulation significantly inhibited the proliferation and invasion ability of EC1 cells. Conclusion MiR-935 plays an essential role in the occurrence and development of ESCC, and thus may be an underlying molecular target for the patients with ESCC. Key words: MicroRNA-935; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Cell proliferation; Invasion; Metastasis