Abstract
BackgroundmiR-203a-3p was reported as a tumor suppressor and disregulated in many malignancies including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, its function in tumor growth and metastasis in NPC has rarely been reported.MethodsThe expression level of miR-203a-3p in human NPC tissues and cell lines was detected via real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Cell proliferation, migration and invasion were assessed in vitro by MTT, colony formation and transwell assay, respectively. The function of miR-203a-3p in vivo was detected through NPC xenograft tumor growth and lung metastatic mice model. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to identify the direct target of miR-203a-3p.ResultsThe expression of miR-203a-3p was decreased in NPC tissues and cell lines in comparison with normal nasopharyngeal tissues and cell line. Ectopic expression of miR-203a-3p inhibited while inhibiting miR-203a-3p expression increased NPC cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. MR-203a-3p overexpression suppressed xenograft tumor growth and lung metastasis in vivo. LASP1 was identified as a direct target of miR-203a-3p, which was confirmed by real-time PCR and western blotting assay. Ectopic expression of LASP1 partially reversed miR-203a-3p-mediated inhibition on proliferation, migration and invasion in NPC cells.ConclusionCollectively, miR-203a-3p suppresses tumor growth and metastasis through targeting LASP1 in NPC. The newly identified miR-203a-3p/LASP1 pathway provides further insights into the initiation and progression of NPC, which may represent a novel therapeutic target for NPC.
Highlights
MiR-203a-3p was reported as a tumor suppressor and disregulated in many malignancies including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)
MiR-203a-3p is down-regulated in NPC cell lines and tissues MiR-203 was reported to be down-regulated in NPC tissues through high-throughput microarray assay [19].To confirm this result, we detected miR-203a-3p expression in both
Expression levels of miR-203a-3p were further investigated in NPC tissues, which was found to be significantly downregulated in NPC tissues as compared with normal nasopharyngeal epithelial tissues (Fig. 1b, P = 0.03)
Summary
MiR-203a-3p was reported as a tumor suppressor and disregulated in many malignancies including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small non-coding RNAs which are dysregulated in many cancer types [6,7,8,9,10,11] These newly identified regulators is involved in modulating cancer cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration through regulating genes’ expression by pairing with 3′UTRs nucleotide sequences of their mRNAs [12,13,14,15]. They may function as both oncogenes and tumor suppressors. These findings indicate that miRNAs have important roles in nasopharyngeal tumorigenesis which worth further exploration
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