RNA-binding protein HuR promotes bladder cancer progression by competitively binding to the long noncoding HOTAIR with miR-1

The elevated expressions of RNA-binding protein HuR and long noncoding HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) are observed in numerous cancers. And HuR often exerts its promotive effects on tumorigenesis via binding to AU-rich elements in target transcripts and thus regulating the expression of target transcripts. However, the roles and related mechanisms of HuR/HOTAIR in bladder cancer progression have never been formally tested. Here, we found that the expression level of HuR was higher in clinical bladder cancer samples than in normal adjacent samples, mirroring that of HOTAIR, and their expression showed strong correlation. Knockdown of HuR/HOTAIR in bladder cancer inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and promoted cell apoptosis. Notably, HuR interacted and stabilized HOTAIR mRNA and knockdown of HuR decreased HOTAIR expression. Additionally, HOTAIR was identified as a potential target of miR-1 in bladder cancer cells. Interestingly, overexpression of HOTAIR enhanced HuR expression and increased cytoplasmic accumulation of HuR, thus enhancing HOTAIR expression in turn. But mutation of miR-1 binding site in HOTAIR canceled the effects of HOTAIR on HuR expression. Overall, we identified a regulatory loop between HOTAIR and HuR during the progression of bladder cancer, which could be exploited to curb bladder cancer progression.