MiR-202-5p suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion in ovarian cancer via regulating HOXB2.

OBJECTIVE

Ovarian cancer (OC) is still the third leading cause of death in reproductive system malignancies. In OC, the biological function of microRNA-202-5p (miR-202-5p) is unknown. Our current research mainly focuses on miR-202-5p in the OC progression.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

MiR-202-5p was determined to be down-regulated in OC by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and colony formation assay were recruited to access the ability of miR-202-5p on cell proliferation. Cell migration and invasion were determined by transwell assay and Matrigel assay. Dual-Luciferase reporter assay was recruited, and it validated that HOXB2 was a downstream target of miR-202-5p. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) hallmark genes and HOXB2 expression level were examined by Western blotting.

RESULTS

MiR-202-5p was down-expressed in OC. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicated that miR-202-5p was positively related to HOXB2. MiR-202-5p over-expression led to a higher 5-year survival rate. Up-regulated miR-202-5p inhibited cell proliferation and metastasis in vitro. HOXB2 was a downstream target of miR-202-5p.

CONCLUSIONS

We verified that miR-202-5p suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in OC via regulating HOXB2. Our findings provide new insights into the underlying mechanism of OC progression and may be useful in finding biomarkers and therapeutic targets of OC.