MicroRNA-542-3p suppresses cellular proliferation of bladder cancer cells through post-transcriptionally regulating survivin

To investigate the clinical significance of microRNA-542-3p (miR-542-3p) and its target gene survivin in human bladder cancer, and to determine their functions in malignant phenotypes of this disease.

Expression levels of miR-542-3p and survivin mRNA in bladder cancer and adjacent normal tissues were detected by quantitative RT-PCR. Cell proliferation and cell cycle were assessed by cell viability assay, flow cytometry and colony formation assay based on two human bladder cancer cell lines.

MiR-542-3p expression was downregulated, while survivin mRNA expression was upregulated in bladder cancer tissues, compared to adjacent normal tissues (both P < 0. 001). Importantly, the expression level of miR-542-3p in bladder cancer tissues was negatively correlated with that of survivin mRNA. miR-542-3p-low and/or survivin-high expression were all significantly associated with tumor stage (all P < 0. 05) and tumor recurrence (all P < 0. 05) of patients with bladder cancer. Moreover, the enforced expression of miR-542-3p remarkably inhibited cell proliferation by inducing G1 phase arrest in both T24 and J82 cells, and decreased the expression level of survivin protein. In contrast, the knock-down of miR-542-3p dramatically promoted the proliferation of bladder cancer cells by accelerating the progression of cell cycle and increased the expression level of survivin protein.

miR-542-3p and its target gene survivin may play crucial roles in the aggressive progression of human bladder cancer. More interestingly, miR-542-3p may function as a tumor suppressor and inhibit the proliferation of bladder cancer cells, implying that miR-542-3p-survivin signal axis might be a novel therapeutic target of this disease.

Gene. 2015 Dec 23 [Epub ahead of print]

Jiajun Zhang, Sheng Wang, Feng Han, Jian Li, Lan Yu, Ping Zhou, Zhijun Chen, Sheng Xue, Changyuan Dai, Qingwen Li

Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. , Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. , Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. , Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. , Department of Pathology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. , Department of Medical examination of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. , Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. , Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. , Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. , Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui, 233030, China. 

PubMed