MiR-23b inhibits cell migration and invasion through targeting PDE7A in colon cancer cells.

It has been found that the abnormal expression of miR-23b is related to the poor prognosis or the weak ability of metastasis in colorectal cancer. Furthermore, high expression of PDE7A in tumors is known to be related to poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to explain whether miR-23b was involved in the invasion and metastasis of colon cancer by regulating PDE7A gene. The expression levels of miR-23b and PDE7A in colon tissues and colon cancer cell lines (SW620 and SW480 cells) were measured by real time PCR. The PDE7A protein level was determined by Western blotting. The relationship between miR-23b and PDE7A was verified by cell transfection and luciferase reporter assay. The effect of miR-23b or PDE7A level on cell invasion and migration was determined by Transwell assay. miR-23b was down-regulated when PDE7A was up-regulated in colon cancer tissues and cells. The result of dual luciferase reporter assay showed that PDE7A was a direct target gene of miR-23b. Overexpression of miR-23b not only reduced the expression of PDE7A in SW620 cells or SW480 cells, but also weakened the migration and invasion abilities of SW620 cells or SW480 cells. When SW620 cells or SW480 cells were transfected with si-PDE7A, the level of PDE7A increased and the migration and invasion abilities of cells diminished. In conclusion, miR-23b is lowly expressed in colon cancer tissues and cells, and miR-23b may play an inhibitory role in the development of colon cancer through down-regulating the expression of PDE7A.