miR-125a-5p inhibits colorectal cancer cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion and migration by targeting TAZ.
Background: miR-125a-5p regulated biological processes in various types of cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). TAZ, a vital transcriptional coactivators of the Hippo pathway, was found to be overexpressed in various cancers. Objectives: This study aims to study the effect of miR-125a-5p on the progression of CRC by regulating TAZ expression. Methods: In this study, miR-125a-5p and TAZ expression in CRC tissue and cell lines were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Luciferase reporter assay was applied to detect whether TAZ was a target of miR-125a-5p. Cell migration and invasion were detected in vitro by wound-healing assay and cell invasion assay. Western blot was used to detect the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins. Findings: The results revealed downregulation of miR-125a-5p, as well as upregulation of TAZ in CRC tissue and cell lines. TAZ was identified as a direct target of miR-125a-5p, and its expression was negatively regulated by miR-125a-5p in CRC cell lines. The functional studies revealed that overexpression of miR-125a-5p inhibited the migration, invasion and EMT of CRC cells, while upregulation of TAZ reversed the inhibitory effect caused by miR-125a-5p. Conclusion: Our data suggest that miR-125a-5p inhibits CRC cell migration, invasion and EMT by targeting TAZ. These results suggest that miR-125a-5p serves as a potential therapeutic biomarker for CRC patients.
['Tang|Lei|L|', 'Zhou|Li|L|', 'Wu|Shengchun|S|', 'Shi|Xiaoming|X|', 'Jiang|Guangwei|G|', 'Niu|Shuai|S|', 'Ding|Dianzhu|D|']
miR-125a-5p colorectal cancer invasion migration TAZ epithelial–mesenchymal transition