title: MicroRNA-194 modulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human colorectal cancer metastasis.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as key regulators of gene expression, are closely related to tumor occurrence and progression. MiR-194 has been proved as a tumor regulatory factor in various cancers; however, the biological function and mechanism of action in colorectal cancer (CRC) have not been well explored. In the present study, we found that miR-194 expression is upregulated in CRC clinical specimens, while overexpression of miR-194 promotes cell migration and invasion in CRC cell lines. Besides, miR-194 significantly influenced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers by downregulating E-cadherin expression (P<0.01) and upregulating vimentin and MMP-2 expression (P<0.001,P<0.05). Cell migration is the cell movement related to actin cytoskeleton. In this study, we found miR-194 increased cell polarization in SW480 cells. Moreover, zymography assay showed that miR-194 significantly upregulated the gelatin-degrading activity of MMP-2 (P<0.01). Collectively, our findings suggest that miR-194 functions as a tumor promoter in CRC, which may provide new insights for the study of CRC development and metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hong-Ke
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Center of Molecular Medicine and Cancer Research, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yun-Hao
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yong-Chuan
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Deng
keywords: colorectal cancer; epithelial mesenchymal transition; invasion; miR-194; migration