MicroRNA-101 inhibits the proliferation and invasion of bladder cancer cells via targeting c-FOS.

MicroRNAs (miRs) have important roles in the parthenogenesis of malignancies. While it has been suggested that deregulation of miR‑101 is involved in bladder cancer, the underlying mechanisms have remained largely elusive. The present study aimed to investigate the roles of miR‑101 in the regulation of bladder cancer cell proliferation and invasion. Reverse‑transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that the expression of miR‑101 was significantly reduced in the HT‑1376, BIU87, T24 and 5637 several human bladder cancer cell lines compared to that in the SV‑HUC‑1 normal bladder epithelial cell line. Furthermore, a Targetscan search and a luciferase assay were used to identify c‑FOS as a novel target of miR‑101, and western blot analysis indicated that the protein expression of c‑FOS was shown to be negatively regulated by miR‑101 in bladder cancer T24 cells; however, c‑FOS mRNA expression was not affected. In addition, plasmid‑mediated overexpression of miR‑101 and small hairpin RNA‑mediated inhibition of c‑FOS significantly inhibited the proliferation and invasive capacity of T24 cells, as indicated by an MTT and a Transwell assay, respectively. However, plasmid‑mediated overexpression of c‑FOS reversed the inhibitory effects of miR‑101 overexpression on T24‑cell proliferation and invasion. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that miR‑101 inhibits the proliferation and invasion of bladder cancer cells, at least partly via targeting c‑FOS, suggesting that miR-101/c‑FOS signaling may represent a potential therapeutic target for bladder cancer.