Abstract
Deregulated microRNAs (miRs) and their roles in carcinogenesis have attracted great attention in recent years. Although miR-204 was reportedly dysregulated in various types of cancer, its function and mechanism in cervical cancer remain unknown. The present study focused on the expression and mechanisms of miR-204 in cervical cancer development. Expression of miR-204 in cervical cancer tissues and non-tumor tissues was measured using PCR analysis. The effect of ectopic expression of miR-204 on cell motility was evaluated using wound-healing and Transwell invasion assays. Luciferase activity and western blot assays were used to verify the regulatory effect of miR-204 on its target gene. It was demonstrated that miR-204 was significantly decreased in primary cervical cancer tissues, and that downregulated miR-204 was associated with lymph node metastasis and poor survival. In addition, it was revealed that ectopic expression of miR-204 significantly inhibited the migratory and invasive ability of cervical cancer cells in vitro. In addition, bioinformatic prediction and experimental validation demonstrated that transcription factor 12 (TCF12) was a direct target of miR-204. Overexpression of TCF12 attenuated the inhibitory effect of miR-204 on cell motility. Taken together, the present data indicated that miR-204 is a metastasis-associated gene and may contribute to the progression of cervical cancer by regulating TCF12, providing novel insights, including that miR-204/TCF12 may be an important mechanism for cervical cancer metastasis.