miR-526b-3p functions as a tumor suppressor in colon cancer by regulating HIF-1α.

HIF-1α is an important transcriptional factor, which plays roles in cancer development and progression. But its regulation by miRNAs is not clear. Here, to investigate the regulation of HIF-1α by miRNAs, miRNAs were predicted and miR-526b-3p was verified as a regulator of HIF-1α in colon cancer cells. Using TaqMan RT-PCR analysis, we analyzed the expression of miR-526b-3p in tumor tissues and cell lines and found that miR-526b-3p was consistently under-expressed in cancer tissues and cell lines compared with their normal controls. When miR-526b-3p was induced into the colon cancer cells, cell proliferation, metastasis and glycolysis of colon cancer cells were suppressed. We also found that miR-526b-3p was down-regulated in metastatic colon cancer tissues and negatively with HIF-1α mRNA in colon cancer tissues. In a summary, miR-526b-3p plays as a tumor suppressor by down-regulation of HIF-1α expression in colon cancer and may be a new diagnosis or therapeutic target.