Open Access

ARTICLE

MicroRNA-139-5p Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Invasion by Targeting RHO-Associated Coiled-Coil-Containing Protein Kinase 2 in Ovarian Cancer

Yanli Wang^*, Jia Li^†, Chunling Xu^†, Xiaomeng Zhang^†

* Department of Gynecology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China
† Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China

Oncology Research 2018, 26(3), 411-420. https://doi.org/10.3727/096504017X14974343584989

Abstract

Increasing evidence indicates that the dysregulation of microRNAs is associated with the development and progression of various cancers. MicroRNA-139-5p (miR-139-5p) has been reported to have a tumor suppressive role in many types of cancers. The role of miR-139-5p in ovarian cancer (OC) is poorly understood. The purpose of the present study was to explore the expression of miR-139-5p and its function in OC. The results showed that miR-139-5p expression was markedly downregulated in OC tissues and cell lines. In addition, underexpression of miR-139-5p was significantly associated with FIGO stage, lymph mode metastasis, and poor overall survival of OC patients. Functional analyses indicated that overexpression of miR-139-5p significantly inhibited proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion of OC cells. Rho-associated coiled-coilcontaining protein kinase 2 (ROCK2) was identified as a direct target of miR-139-5p using luciferase reporter assays, qualitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR), and Western blot. In addition, ROCK2 expression was upregulated and was inversely correlated with miR-139-5p levels in OC tissues. Rescue experiments showed that overexpression of ROCK2 effectively reversed the inhibitory effect of OC cells induced by miR-139-5p. Most interestingly, in vivo studies indicated that miR-139-5p markedly suppressed the growth of tumors by repressing ROCK2 expression in nude mice. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that miR- 139-5p plays an important tumor suppressor role in OC by directly binding to ROCK2, providing a novel target for the molecular treatment of OC.

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