The role of exosomal miR‐375‐3p: A potential suppressor in bladder cancer via the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway

Abstract

Abstract miR‐375‐3p is a significantly downregulated miRNA in bladder cancer (BC). However, its role in BC regulation is still unclear. In this study, we reported that miR‐375‐3p overexpression inhibited proliferation and migration and promoted apoptosis in BC cells. Frizzled‐8 (FZD8) gene is identified as the direct miR‐375‐3p targeting gene. miR‐375‐3p blocks the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway and downstream molecules Cyclin D1 and c‐Myc by inhibiting the expression of FZD8 directly, it could increase caspase 1 and caspase 3 expression and promote T24 cell apoptosis as well. miR‐375‐3p also showed a significant inhibitory effect in vivo in bladder tumor‐bearing nude mice, as demonstrated by the reduced tumor volume and Ki67 proliferation index in tumor tissue. Collectively, miR‐375‐3p is a suppressor of BC that inhibits proliferation and metastasis, and promotes apoptosis in BC cells as well as suppresses tumor growth in a T24 xenograft mouse model, which could be used as a potential therapeutic approach for BC in future.