MicroRNA‑503 serves an oncogenic role in retinoblastoma progression by directly targeting PTPN12

Abstract

Numerous studies have demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are abnormally expressed in retinoblastoma (RB). miRNAs may serve a role in oncogene or tumor-suppressor activity in RB genesis and development by modulating various biological processes. miRNAs therefore , may be effective therapeutic targets for miRNA-based therapy in patients with RB. Recently it has been revealed that miR-503 may serve a role in various types of human cancer. However, the expression and functional roles of miR-503 are rarely reported in RB. In the current study, the expression of miR-503 was significantly upregulated in RB tissues and cell lines. In addition, Cell Counting Kit-8 and in vitro invasion assays were performed to assess cell proliferation and invasion , respectively. The results of the present study revealed that miR-503 inhibition impeded RB in vitro cell proliferation and invasion. Furthermore, protein tyrosine phosphatase nonre-ceptor type 12 (PTPN12) was demonstrated to be a direct target gene of miR-503 in RB cells. PTPN12 overexpression also led to the downregulation of miR-503 in RB cell proliferation and invasion. PTPN12 knockdown could therefore abrogate the effects of miR-503 downregulation in RB cells. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that miR-503 may serve a role in RB oncogenic activity progression by directly targeting PTPN12. Therefore, miR-503 may be a target for effective therapy in patients with RB.