MicroRNA-596 is epigenetically inactivated and suppresses prostatic cancer cell growth and migration via regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

OBJECTIVES

Although studies have reported that miR-596 extensively participates in multiple cancer progression, the biological mechanisms and effects of miR-596 in prostatic cancer remain unclear. The literature is aimed to reveal the function and possible molecular mechanisms of miR-596 in prostatic cancer carcinogenesis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

qRT-PCR was applied to examine miR-596 expression in prostatic cancer cell lines and samples, also methylation-specific PCR was used to detect the methylation status of the promoter CpG islands in prostatic cancer samples. Meanwhile, the tumor-related effects of miR-596 were detected via cell viability, clone formation assay, migration assay, flow cytometric and AO/EB assay. qRT-PCR and Western blots were applied to investigate the function of miR-596 on malignant behavior in prostatic cancer cells.

RESULTS

We found that miR-596 mRNA was decreased in prostatic cancer samples and cell lines. miR-596 mRNA level was also correlated to cancer stage, Gleason scores, while miR-596 promoter methylation was related to cancer tumor stage, Gleason score and preoperative PSA levels. miR-596 inhibited the cell growth and activity by causing cell apoptosis, and also suppressed the migration of prostatic cancer cells by revealing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process. In addition, Western blot indicates that miR-596 overexpression deregulated Wnt/β-catenin signaling, by restraining phosphorylation levels of β-catenin and expression levels of downstream targets.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, this research indicates that miR-596 overexpression could be potentially useful in the cell growth and migration of prostatic cancer and serves as a potential molecular marker in prostatic cancer.