MicroRNA (MiR)-506 serves a vital role in several types of cancer. However, the role of miR-506 in bladder cancer (BCa) progression remains to be investigated. The present study demonstrated that miR-506 expression was downregulated in BCa tissues and cell lines. Meanwhile, overexpression of miR-506 inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Additionally, upregulated miR-506 increased E-cadherin, and reduced N-cadherin and Vimentin expression levels, as markers of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. RWD domain containing 4 (RWDD4) was revealed to be a miR506 target in BCa cells, and the downregulation of RWDD4 was found to suppress BCa cell proliferation, migration and invasion. In summary, miR-506 may suppress the aggressive properties of human BCa cells by targeting RWDD4, and thus may be a novel therapeutic target in human BCa.
Keywords: RWDD4; bladder cancer; epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; miR-506.