Effects of miR-492 on migration, invasion, EMT and prognosis in ovarian cancer by targeting SOX7.

PURPOSE

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common malignancies in females with high mortality rate. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) serve as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in various human cancer types, including OC. The aim of this study was to explore the roles of miR-492 in OC.

METHODS

Two human ovarian cancer cell lines, SKOV3 and CAOV3, and a normal ovarian cell line IOSE80 were used in this study. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was conducted to measure the mRNA levels of miRNAs and genes. The protein levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) associated genes were calculated using Western blot. Transwell assay was utilized to evaluate the migratory and invasive capacities.

RESULTS

MiR-492 was overexpressed while SRY-box 7 (SOX7) was lowly expressed in OC tissues and cells. Upregulation of miR-492 or downregulation of SOX7 predicted poor prognosis of OC patients. MiR-492 regulated the expression of SOX7 via directly binding to the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of SOX7 mRNA in SKOV3 OC cells. The expression of miR-492 had a negative relationship with SOX7 in OC tissues. MiR-492 promoted the migration, invasion and EMT through SOX7 in SKOV3 cells. SOX7 could partially reverse the role of miR-492 on the migratory, invasive and EMT abilities in SKOV3 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-492 promoted the migratory, invasive and EMT abilities through SOX7 in OC. This suggested that miR-492/SOX7 axis may be an effective candidate therapeutic target for the treatment of OC.