Identification of miR-885-5p as a Tumor Biomarker: Regulation of Cellular Function in Cervical Cancer

Abstract

Objectives: MicroRNAs were revealed as biomarkers for early detection or prognosis predictors of cancer and were involved in the progression of cancer. The present study investigated the expression pattern and potential clinical and functional role of miR-885-5p in cervical cancer. Design: A total of 115 pairs of cervical cancer tissue specimens and adjacent nontumor paracancerous tissue specimens were collected from the cervical cancer patients who underwent surgical resection or biopsy without preoperative systemic therapy at Maternity and Child Health Care of Zaozhuang from 2012 to 2014. Participants/Materials, Setting, Methods: The expression levels of miR-885-5p in cervical cancer were measured using the qRT-PCR assay. A follow-up study was conducted, and the Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test was used to analyze the potential clinical significance of miR-885-5p in cervical cancer. The functional experiments including CCK-8, Transwell migration, and invasion assays were used to investigate the biological function of miR-885-5p in cervical cancer cells. Results: miR-885-5p expression was decreased in tumor tissues and tumor cell lines compared to normal control. Low expression of miR-885-5p was related to lymph node metastasis, late FIGO stage, and shorter overall survival outcome. Ascending expression of miR-885-5p inhibited the proliferative, migratory, and invasive abilities of cervical cancer cells, while downregulation of miR-885-5p promoted these cellular abilities of cervical cancer cells in vitro. Limitations: The patient population size was limited; thus, the clinical significance of miR-885-5p requires further verification. Second, the precise mechanism of miR-885-5p in cervical cancer is still exclusive. In the future studies, a larger sample size will be required to confirm the prognostic value of miR-885-5p in cervical cancer, and the possible targets, as well as the detailed mechanism of miR-885-5p, will be investigated. Conclusions: miR-885-5p expression was decreased in cervical cancer, and downregulation of miR-885-5p promoted the progression of cervical cancer cells. MiR-885-5p may be an independent prognostic predictor and therapeutic target for treating cervical cancer.