miR-210, a modulator of hypoxia-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in ovarian cancer cell.

miR-210 has been found consistently induced by hypoxia and implicated in cancer progression. Despite widespread exploration on miR-210 function, little is known about its action on invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer. In this study, miR-210 was induced by hypoxia in SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells and then suppressed with its specific inhibitor. Repression of miR-210 in hypoxic cells led to upregulation of E-cadherin, downregulation of vimentin and Snail, and attenuation of wound healing capability. On the other hand, miR-210 was overexpressed in normoxic SKOV3 cells, which resulted in decrease of E-cadherin, increase of vimentin and Snail, and facilitation of wound healing capability. These results revealed that miR-210 promoted ovarian cancer cell mobility by acting as a modulator of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), highlighting the importance of miR-210 in ovarian cancer progression.