Inhibition of FOXO1 by small interfering RNA enhances proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma cells via Akt/FOXO1/Bim pathway.

Forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) is a multifunctional transcription factor of the forkhead family. It may function as a tumor suppressor through its ability to regulate cellular events, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle control. As reported, FOXO1 is downregulated in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

MicroRNA-96 plays an oncogenic role by targeting FOXO1 and regulating AKT/FOXO1/Bim pathway in papillary thyroid carcinoma cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are kind of small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at post-transcription level, and those non-coding RNAs appear to play a key role in tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the biological role of miR-96 in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) cell lines. We identified miR-96 to be up-regulated in PTC specimens in comparison to matched normal tissues by microRNA microarray and RT-qPCR analysis (P < 0.