title: MicroRNA-491-5p suppresses cervical cancer cell growth by targeting hTERT.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that have been shown to regulate a variety of biological processes by targeting messenger RNA. MicroRNA-491-5p (miR-491-5p), an important miRNA, has been demonstrated to be involved in the processes of initiation and progression in several tumors. However, the precise biological function of miR-491-5p and its molecular mechanism in cervical cancer cells remain elusive. The present study was carried out to investigate the clinical significance and prognostic value of miR-491-5p expression in cervical cancer, and to evaluate the role of miR-491-5p and the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in cervical cancer. The results showed that miR-491-5p expression was significantly downregulated in cervical cancer tissues when compared with the corresponding adjacent normal tissues (P<0.001), and the value was negatively associated with advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, high histological grading and lymph node metastasis (P<0.01). The enforced expression of miR-491-5p in cervical cancer cells significantly inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion, induced cell apoptosis, and suppressed the tumor growth of the mouse model of HeLa cells. In addition, the dual-luciferase reporter assay revealed that human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) was identified as a novel target gene of miR-491-5p. Notably, it was found that miR-491-5p regulated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. These results suggested that targeting miR-491-5p is a strategy for blocking the development of cervical cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Chaoyang, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Chaoyang, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying-Xian
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Chaoyang, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huan-Qiu
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Chaoyang, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying-Ai
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Chaoyang, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xin-Bai
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D011379:Prognosis; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: C551410:MIRN491 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; C509186:TERT protein, human; D019098:Telomerase