title: MicroRNA-720 promotes in vitro cell migration by targeting Rab35 expression in cervical cancer cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  MicroRNA-720 (miR-720), a nonclassical miRNA, is involved in the initiation and progression of several tumors. In our previous studies, miR-720 was shown to be significantly upregulated in cervical cancer tissues compared with normal cervical tissues. However, the precise biological functions of miR-720, and its molecular mechanisms of action, are still unknown.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Microarray expression profiles, luciferase reporter assays, and western blot assays were used to validate Rab35 as a target gene of miR-720 in HEK293T and HeLa cells. The regulation of Rab35 expression by miR-720 was assessed using qRT-PCR and western blot assays, and the effects of exogenous miR-720 and Rab35 on cell migration were evaluated in vitro using Transwell(®) assay, wound healing assay, and real-time analyses in HeLa cells. The influences of exogenous miR-720 on cell proliferation were evaluated in vitro by the MTT assay in HeLa cells. In addition, expression of E-cadherin and vimentin associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition were also assessed using western blot analyses after transfection of miR-720 mimics and Rab35 expression vectors. The results showed that the small GTPase, Rab35, is a direct functional target of miR-720 in cervical cancer HeLa cells. By targeting Rab35, overexpression of miR-720 resulted in a decrease in E-cadherin expression and an increase in vimentin expression and finally led to promotion of HeLa cell migration. Furthermore, reintroduction of Rab35 3'-UTR(-) markedly reversed the induction of cell migration in miR-720-expressing HeLa cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The miR-720 promotes cell migration of HeLa cells by downregulating Rab35. The results show that miR-720 is a novel cell migration-associated gene in cervical cancer cells.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yunlan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chuang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xunwu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mingyang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, 430071 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, 430071 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guihong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430030 Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wenxin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mingxiong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
keywords: Cell migration; Cervical cancer cells; Rab35; miR-720