title: Suppression of forkhead box Q1 by microRNA-506 represses the proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cervical cancer cells.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a pivotal role in cancer progression and development, representing novel therapeutic tools for cancer therapy. Forkhead box Q1 (FOXQ1) functions as an oncogene in various cancer types. However, the functional significance of FOXQ1 in cervical cancer remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the biological function of FOXQ1 in cervical cancer and tested whether or not FOXQ1 can be targeted and regulated by specific miRNAs. We found that FOXQ1 was highly expressed in cervical cancer cell lines. Knockdown of FOXQ1 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly suppressed the proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cervical cancer cells. FOXQ1 was predicted as a target gene of microRNA-506 (miR-506), and this prediction was validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot analyses demonstrated that mRNA and protein expression was negatively regulated by miR-506. The expression of miR-506 was downregulated in cervical cancer tissues, and miR-506 expression was inversely correlated with FOXQ1 expression in cervical cancer. The overexpression of miR-506 dramatically suppressed the proliferation and EMT of cervical cancer cells that mimicked the suppression of FOXO1 siRNA. Furthermore, the restoration of FOXQ1 expression significantly reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-506. Overall, our study demonstrated that miR-506 inhibited the proliferation and EMT of cervical cancer cells by targeting FOXQ1 and provided evidence that the miR-506/FOXQ1 axis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer, representing potential molecular targets for the development of anticancer agents for cervical cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Women and Infants Hospital of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, Henan 450012, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mingting
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Women and Infants Hospital of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, Henan 450012, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qingli
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Women and Infants Hospital of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, Henan 450012, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shufen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Women and Infants Hospital of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, Henan 450012, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhengzhou Central Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450007, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Therapy, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaojing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jia
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000502:physiology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; C484579:FOXQ1 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C561508:MIRN506 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering