MicroRNA-1294 inhibits the proliferation and enhances the chemosensitivity of glioma to temozolomide via the direct targeting of TPX2.

MicroRNA-1294 (miR-1294) has been reported to be involved in the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. However, the function and the mechanisms of miR-1294 in glioma remain unclear. In this study, we explore the potential biological roles of miR-1294 in glioma cell lines. First, we detected the aberrant down-regulation of miR-1294 in glioma tissues and cell lines. Second, we determined that miR-1294 suppresses the proliferation, migration and invasiveness and enhances the chemosensitivity of glioma cells lines to temozolomide. Third, we found that the targeting protein for Xenopus kinesin-like protein 2 (TPX2) is the functional target of miR-1294; miR-1294 acts through TPX2 to exert an important biological effect in glioma. Importantly, TPX2 knockdown had the same effect on glioma cell lines as miR-1294 overexpression. In addition, when TPX2 was up-regulated in these cells, the effects of miR-1294 on glioma cell lines were suppressed. Moreover, the effect of miR-1294 on glioma was verified using a xenograft model. These findings demonstrated that miR-1294 inhibits the development of glioma by targeting TPX2. These findings provide a new potential therapeutic target for glioma treatment.