miR-126 functions as a tumor suppressor in osteosarcoma by targeting Sox2

Int J Mol Sci. 2013 Dec 31;15(1):423-37. doi: 10.3390/ijms15010423.

Abstract

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common malignant bone tumor in children and young adults, the early symptoms and signs of which are non-specific. The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) provides a new avenue for the early diagnosis and treatment of OS. miR-126 has been reported to be highly expressed in vascularized tissues, and is recently widely studied in cancers. Herein, we explored the expression and significance of miR-126 in OS. Using TaqMan RT-PCR analysis, we analyzed the expression of miR-126 in 32 paired OS tumor tissues and 4 OS cell lines and found that miR-126 was consistently under-expressed in OS tissues and cell lines compared with normal bone tissues and normal osteoblast cells (NHOst), respectively. As miR-126 is significantly decreased in OS tissues and cell lines, we sought to compensate for its loss through exogenous transfection into MG-63 cells with a miR-126 mimic. Ectopic expression of miR-126 inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and induced apoptosis of MG-63 cells. Moreover, bioinformatic prediction suggested that the sex-determining region Y-box 2 (Sox2) is a target gene of miR-126. Using mRNA and protein expression analysis, luciferase assays and rescue assays, we demonstrate that restored expression of Sox2 dampened miR-126-mediated suppression of tumor progression, which suggests the important role of miR-126/Sox2 interaction in tumor progression. Taken together, our data indicate that miR-126 functions as a tumor suppressor in OS, which exerts its activity by suppressing the expression of Sox2.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Retracted Publication

MeSH terms

  • 3' Untranslated Regions
  • Apoptosis
  • Base Sequence
  • Bone Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Bone Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Bone Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement
  • Humans
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism*
  • Oligonucleotides, Antisense / metabolism
  • Osteosarcoma / genetics*
  • Osteosarcoma / metabolism
  • Osteosarcoma / pathology
  • SOXB1 Transcription Factors / genetics*
  • SOXB1 Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Sequence Alignment

Substances

  • 3' Untranslated Regions
  • MIRN126 microRNA, human
  • MicroRNAs
  • Oligonucleotides, Antisense
  • SOXB1 Transcription Factors