Establishment of twist-1 and TGFBR2 as direct targets of microRNA-20a in mesenchymal to epithelial transition of breast cancer cell-line MDA-MB-231.

Messenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) is a significant physiological phenomenon involved in embryogenesis and cancer. This study aims at investigating the mechanism of microRNA-20a (miR-20a) mediated regulation of mesenchymal to epithelial transition and identification of its direct target genes in breast cancer cell-line, MDA-MB-231. Reduced migratory and invasive property, altered cellular morphology along with reduced capability for attachment to basement membrane was acquired by over-expression of miR-20a in invasive MDA-MB-231 cell-line initially expressing low level of this micro-RNA, indicating direct correlation between abundance of miR-20a and metastatic property.