Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry 2015-01-01

MiR-146b-5p promotes metastasis and induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition in thyroid cancer by targeting ZNRF3.

Xianzhao Deng, Bo Wu, Ke Xiao, Jie Kang, Jing Xie, Xiaoping Zhang, Youben Fan

Index: Cell Physiol. Biochem. 35(1) , 71-82, (2015)

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Abstract

Micro-RNA (miR)-146b-5p is overexpressed in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and associated with extrathyroidal invasion and advanced tumor stage. In the present study, we showed that miR-146b-5p is upregulated in PTC with lymph node metastasis.A computational search and luciferase assay identified zinc RING finger 3 (ZNRF3), a negative regulator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, as a direct target of miR-146b-5p in PTC.MiR-146b-5p promoted migration and invasiveness and induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of PTC cells, whereas ZNRF3 overexpression reversed this effect. MiR-146b-5p increased the cell surface levels of the Wnt receptors Frizzled-6 and LRP6 and enhanced Wnt/β-catenin signaling by downregulating ZNRF3, whereas an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin suppressed the effect of miR-146b-5p on migration, invasiveness and EMT of PTC cells.These results indicate that miR-146b-5p induces EMT and may promote PTC metastasis through the regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and suggest novel potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of PTC.© 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.