The putative tumor suppressor, miR-199a, regulated by Snail, modulates clear cell renal cell carcinoma aggressiveness by repressing ROCK1.

Background: Aberrant expression of miR-199a has been frequently reported in cancer studies; however, its role in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has not been examined in detail.

Results: Here, we showed that miR-199a was downregulated in RCC and associated with poor prognostic phenotype. Using luciferase and western blot assays we identified that Rho-associated coiled coil-containing protein kinases 1 (ROCK1) was a direct target gene for miR-199a. miR-199a regulated proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) cells by modulating ROCK1 expression. Interestingly, we also found that miR-199a was modulated by snail in ccRCC cells. Snail elevated ROCK1 expression by repressing miR-199a activity.

Conclusion: Altogether, our results identify a crucial tumor suppressive role of miR-199a in the progression of ccRCC and suggest that miR-199a might be an anticancer therapeutic target for ccRCC patients.