MicroRNAs (miRs) are widely involved in regulating tumor development and progression. miR-758-3p has been reported to suppress the progression of various cancer types, including hepatocellular carcinoma. However, whether miR-758-3p has a role in bladder cancer (BC) has not been previously reported, and was thus investigated in the present study. It was revealed that miR-758-3p was downregulated in BC tissues and cell lines. Transfection with miR-758-3p mimics suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of BC cells, and inhibition of miR-758-3p had the opposite effect. In terms of the underlying mechanisms, a luciferase reporter assay revealed that Notch receptor 2 (NOTCH2) is a direct target gene of miR-758-3p in BC cells. Transfection with miR-758-3p mimics decreased the mRNA and protein levels of NOTCH2. Furthermore, an inverse correlation between miR-758-3p and NOTCH2 levels was identified. Finally, overexpression of NOTCH2 significantly rescued the proliferation, migration and invasion of BC cells transfected with miR-758-3p mimics. Taken together, the present study indicated that miR-758-3p suppresses BC cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting NOTCH2.
Keywords: bladder cancer; invasion; microRNA-758-3p; notch ligand 2; proliferation.