Original Article


miR-3619-3p promotes papillary thyroid carcinoma progression via Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Shuang Yu, Siting Cao, Shubin Hong, Xiaorong Lin, Hongyu Guan, Shuwei Chen, Quan Zhang, Weiming Lv, Yanbing Li, Haipeng Xiao

Abstract

Background: It is well known that the dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been identified in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), but their roles in the progression and metastasis of PTC remain unclear. MicroRNA-3619-3p (miR-3619-3p) is associated with cancer progression as an oncogene which is predicted to target at the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Our study aimed to investigate the role of miR-3619-3p on PTC cell migration and invasion, as well as the underlying mechanisms.
Methods: The expression of miR-3619-3p in 36 PTC tissues and corresponding tumor-adjacent tissues, as well as 3 PTC cell lines (BCPAP, K1, TPC-1) and the normal thyroid epithelial cell line (N-thy-ori 3-1) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The relationship between miR-3619-3p expression and clinicopathologic status of PTC patients was analyzed. Migration, invasion, and wound healing, were used to evaluate the role of miR-3619-3p in PTC. The activation of β-catenin and the possible molecular pathway were detected by western blotting.
Results: The expression of miR-3619-3p in PTC tissues was significantly higher than the corresponding tumor-adjacent tissues (P<0.01), and its high expression positively correlated with extrathyroidal invasion, multicentricity, and cervical lymph node metastasis. Moreover, the miR-3619-3p was also up-regulated in PTC cell lines when compared to N-thy-ori 3-1. MiR-3619-3p enhanced the capabilities of migration and invasion in PTC cell lines. Furthermore, miR-3619-3p activated Wnt/β-catenin pathway via maintaining the mRNA stability of β-catenin.
Conclusions: miR-3619-3p promoted PTC cell migration and invasion as an oncogene via activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway through increasing the stability of β-catenin.

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