Down-regulation of miR-1181 indicates a dismal prognosis for nasopharyngeal carcinoma and promoted cell proliferation and metastasis by modulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling

X. Hua, K.-C. Fan

Department of ENT, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China. whess662712@126.com

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• Oncology

OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to investigate the expression pattern, clinicopathological feature and prognostic role of miR-1181 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and to determine the functional effects and potential mechanism of miR-1181 in NPC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression levels of miR-1181 were determined in NPC tissues and cell lines by RT-PCR. The clinical data were interpreted by chi-square test, univariate analysis, and multivariate analysis. The effect of PVT1 on proliferation was evaluated by CCK-8 and colony formation assays, and migration and invasion ability were evaluated by transwell and wound-healing assays. The association between miR-1181 and Wnt/β-catenin pathway was analyzed by Western blot.

RESULTS: We found that miR-1181 expression was significantly down-regulated in both NPC tissues and cell lines. Low expression of miR-1181 was significantly associated with N stage (p=0.013), clinical stage (p=0.037) and grade (p=0.033). Clinical assays showed that patients with low miR-1181 expression had shorter overall survival time than those with high miR-1181 expression (p=0.0007). Multivariate analysis revealed that miR-1181 expression was independently associated with the overall survival. Functional investigations indicated that overexpression of miR-1181 suppressed NPC cells proliferation, migration and invasion. Mechanistically, forced miR-1181 expression suppressed the activity of Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings proved that miR-1181 may serve as a candidate prognostic biomarker and target for new therapies in NPC patients.

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