MiR-886-5p inhibition inhibits growth and induces apoptosis of MCF7 cells.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS To explore the molecular mechanisms of miR-886-5p in breast cancer., we examined roles in inhibiting growth and migration of MCF-7 cells. METHODS MiR-886-5p mimics and inhibitors were used to express or inhibit MiR-886-5p, respectively, and MTT and clone formation assays were used to determine the survival and proliferation. Hoechst 33342/ PI double staining was applied to detect apoptosis. The expression of caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, MT1-MMP, VEGF-C and VEGF-D was detected by Western blotting, and the levels of MMP2 and MMP9 secreted from MCF-7 cells were assessed by ELISA. MCF-7 cell migration was determined by wound healing and Transwell assays. RESULTS We found that the growth of MCF-7 cells was inhibited upon decreasing miR-886-5p levels. Inhibiting miR-866-5p also significantly induced apoptosis and decreased the migratory capacity of these cells. The expression of VEGF-C, VEGF-D, MT1-MMP, MMP2, and MMP9 was also found to be decreased as compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS Our data show that downregulation of miR-886-5p expression in MCF-7 cells could significantly inhibit cell growth and migration. This might imply that inhibiting miR-886-5p could be a therapeutic strategy in breast cancer.