MiR-212-5p inhibits the malignant behavior of clear cell renal cell carcinoma cells by targeting TBX15.

Objective To investigate the role of microRNA-212-5p (miR-212-5p) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and to explore the potential underlying mechanisms. Materials and methods 32 pairs of ccRCC clinical samples were collected. Renal ccRCC cells (786-O) and embryonic kidney cells (293T) were cultured in vitro. The ability of cell proliferation was detected by 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiazol(-z-y1)-3,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Transwell migration assay was used to detect the abilities of cell invasion and migration. The relative protein and mRNA expressions of miR-212-5p were detected by Western blot and quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis, respectively. Furthermore, bioinformatics online sites and luciferase reporter gene assay were performed to predict and verify the potential targets of miR-212-5p, respectively. Results The expression level of miR-212-5p in ccRCC tissues and cell lines was significantly inhibited. Bioinformatics online sites and luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that T-box transcription factor TBX15 (TBX15) was the potential target gene of miR-212-5p. In vitro experiments demonstrated that the proliferation, cell cycle, cell invasion and migration of ccRCC cells were obviously restricted after up-regulation of miR-212-5p. However, the above functional effects were significantly abolished in ccRCC cells after co-transfection with miR-212-5p mimics and LV-TBX15. Conclusions MiR-212-5p acted as a tumor suppressor gene in ccRCC. Through targeting TBX15, miR-212-5p significantly inhibited the malignant behavior of ccRCC cells. Our findings revealed that miR-212-5p/TBX15 axis might be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of ccRCC.