MicroRNA-331-3p inhibits proliferation and metastasis of ovarian cancer by targeting RCC2

Abstract

Introduction Epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) is one of the most lethal gynecologic malignancies, with a poor 5-year survival rate. Numerous studies have shown that microRNAs participate in the malignant behavior of ovarian cancer cells by directly targeting multiple oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Material and methods Reverse transcription-PCR was used to determine the level of miR-331-3p in EOC. Cells proliferation was measured with the Cell Counting Kit-8. Cell mobility were measured by wound-healing assay. Cell migration and invasion were measured by transwell assay. Luciferase assays were used to demonstrate that RCC2 was a directed target of miR-331-3p in EOC. Western blots were used to measure the protein expression. Results We found that the expression of microRNA-331-3p (miR-331-3p) in ovarian cancer cell lines is reduced (p < 0.01), and an increase of expression of miR-331-3p in ovarian cancer cells significantly inhibits cell proliferation (p < 0.001). Transwell and wound-healing assays showed that miR-331-3p inhibits the cell motility of ovarian cancer cells (p < 0.001). Regulator of chromosome condensation 2 (RCC2) was predicted to be a novel target for miR-331-3p. Our luciferase activity assay confirmed that RCC2 is directly targeted by miR-331-3p. RCC2 was negatively regulated by miR-331-3p (p < 0.001), and overexpression of RCC2 could restore the malignant behaviors of ovarian cancer cells, which was suppressed by miR-331-3p. Conclusions These data indicate that miR-331-3p can inhibit proliferation, migration, and invasion of ovarian cancer cells via directly targeting RCC2. Our study provides potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of ovarian cancer.