miR-211-5p Suppresses Metastatic Behavior by Targeting SNAI1 in Renal Cancer

Abstract

The Snail family transcriptional repressor 1 (SNAI1) is known to promote metastatic phenotypes in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the mechanism by which SNAI1 promotes RCC metastasis remains largely unexplored. Here, bioinformatics and quantitative validation revealed that miR-211-5p was downregulated in metastatic RCC clinical specimens compared with nonmetastatic RCC tissues. Overexpression of miR-211-5p suppressed RCC cell migration and invasion <i>via</i> downregulation of SNAI1 expression. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that miR-211-5p directly targeted 3'-UTR of SNAI1. Furthermore, miR-211-5p decreased xenograft tumor weight and reduced <i>in vivo</i> tumor metastasis in mice. These findings indicate that miR-211-5p-mediated inhibition of SNAIL1 expression contributes to the suppression of RCC progression.<b>Implications:</b> Targeting the miR-211-5p/SNAI1 signaling pathway may be a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of RCC metastasis. <i>Mol Cancer Res; 15(4); 448-56. ©2017 AACR</i>.