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miR-25 promotes glioblastoma cell proliferation and invasion by directly targeting NEFL

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Abstract

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant and common brain tumor; it is aggressive growth pattern means that GBM patients face a poor prognosis even when receiving the best available treatment modalities. In recent years, an increasing number of reports suggest that the discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) might provide a novel therapeutic target for human cancers, including GBM. One miRNA in particular, microRNA-25 (miR-25), is overexpressed in several cancers, wherein accumulating evidence indicates that it functions as an oncogene. However, the function of miR-25 in GBM has not been totally elucidated. In this study, we demonstrated that miR-25 was significantly up-regulated in astrocytoma tissues and glioblastoma cell lines. In vitro studies further demonstrated that overexpressed miR-25 was able to promote, while its antisense oligos inhibited cell proliferation and invasion in U251 cells. Moreover, we identified neurofilament light polypeptide (NEFL) as a novel target molecule of miR-25. Also of note was the fact that NEFL was down-regulated with increased levels of miR-25 expression in human astrocytoma clinical specimens. In addition, via the mTOR signaling pathway, NEFL-siRNA could significantly attenuate the inhibitory effects of knockdown miR-25 on the proliferation and invasion of U251 cells. Overall, our results showed an important role for miR-25 in regulating NEFL expression in GBM, and suggest that miR-25 could be a potential target for GBM treatment.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Zeyou Wang for his precious suggestions and generous help in carrying out this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 87 XiangYa Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China

    Gang Peng, Xianrui Yuan, Jian Yuan, Qing Liu, Chenfu Shen, Jianrong Ma, Yiwei Liao & Weixi Jiang

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 87 XiangYa Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China

    Minhui Dai

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  1. Gang Peng
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Correspondence to Weixi Jiang.

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Peng, G., Yuan, X., Yuan, J. et al. miR-25 promotes glioblastoma cell proliferation and invasion by directly targeting NEFL. Mol Cell Biochem 409, 103–111 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-015-2516-x

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