A critical role of mir-199a in the cell biological behaviors of colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancer and the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide. The critical role of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are important in the cancer development. METHODS The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of miR-199a expression in CRC and non-tumor tissues as well as assessed the effect of miR-199a on biological behaviors including cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of CRC cells. The expression of miR-199a was distinctly decreased in colorectal cancer tissues compared with non-neoplastic colorectal tissues. RESULTS In this study, we found that miR-199a down-regulation was associated with the CRC and metastasis incidence. Advanced study showed that miR-199a up-regulation would lead to decreased CRC proliferation, migration and invasion. However, no significant association of miR-199a treatment and apoptosis rate and cell-cycle were detected in this study. The detection for the mechanisms of miR-199a on the development of CRC showed that the anticarcinogenic effect of miR-199a might be produced through HIF-1α/VEGF pathway. CONCLUSION It was found that miR-199a would reduce the proliferation, migration and invasion. However, overexpression of miR-199a on the apoptosis rate and cell cycles showed no significant results. The potential functionary mechanism of miR-199a might through HIF-1α/VEGF pathway. VIRTUAL SLIDES The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/9806714131513041 .