A key role of microRNA-29b in suppression of osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration via modulation of VEGF.

MicroRNA (miRNA) is a small, non-coding RNAs and it could post-transcriptionally related gene expression by negatively regulating the stability or translational efficiency of their target genes. Previous studies have reported the antineoplastic effect of microRNA-29b (miR-29b) in several kinds of cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of miR-29b in human osteosarcoma pathogenesis. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to determine the expression level of miR-29b in 20 osteosarcoma specimens and adjacent normal bone tissues. The proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were employed to detect the effect of miR-29b on the osteosarcoma cell line MG63. The results showed that miR-29b expression was relatively decreased in osteosarcoma specimens compared with adjacent normal tissues. Overexpression of miR-29b suppressed MG63 cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Meanwhile miR-29b could induce apoptosis of MG63. Besides, miR-29b directly targets VEGF and over-expression of miR-29b led to down-regulation of VEGF protein level, In conclusions, miR-29b may play an important role in osteosarcoma progression, which might negatively regulate the expression of VEGF and suppresses proliferation and induces apoptosis of MG63 cell line.