Abstract:Objective: To investigate the effects of miR381 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells and to explore the target gene of miR381. Methods: The expression of miR381 in human prostate cancer cell lines was determined by qRTPCR. miR381 was overexpressed or knocked down in prostate cancer cells by gene transfection. MTT assay and colony formation assay were used to detect the effect of miR381 on the proliferation of prostate cancer cells. The effect of miR381 on the apoptosis of prostate cancer cells was detected by flow cytometry. The effects of miR381 on the migration and invasion abilities of prostate cancer cells were detected by wound healing assay, Transwell migration assay and matrigel invasion assay. The target genes of miR381 were predicted by bioinformatics and further identified by luciferase reporter gene assay. Results: The expression of miR381 was lower in prostate cancer cells than normal prostate epithelial cells. Compared with blank control group, the cell viability and the number of cell colonies was significantly reduced while the percentage of apoptotic cells was significantly increased in miR381 mimics group. The number of migrated and invaded cells was also significantly reduced in miR381 mimics group. On the contrary, miR381 inhibitor led to the opposite effects. MAP3K2 was identified as a target gene of miR381 by luciferase reporter gene assay. miR381 mimics downregulated while miR381 inhibitor upregulated the expression of MAP3K2 in prostate cancer cells. Conclusion: miR381 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells by targeting MAP3K2. miR381 plays tumor suppressive role in prostate cancer, and may be a potential target for the diagnosis and therapy of prostate cancer.
[Key words]prostate cancer; miR381; MAP3K2; proliferation; migration; invasion