MicroRNA-218 inhibits tumor growth and increases chemosensitivity to CDDP treatment by targeting BCAT1 in prostate cancer.

MicroRNAs have been reported to be associated with chemosensitivity of several types of cancers. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, we explored miR-218 increased the chemosensitivity to cis-diaminedichloroplatinum treatment of prostate cancer. We found that the expression level of miR-218 was down-regulated in the human prostate cancer specimens. Moreover, overexpression of miR-218 inhibited cell viability, migration, and invasion in PC3 and DU145 cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the tumor suppressive role of miR-218 was mediated by negatively regulating branched-chain amino acid transaminase 1 (BCAT1) protein expression. Importantly, overexpression of BCAT1 decreased the chemosensitivity to CDDP treatment of PC3 and DU145 cells. Our study is the first to identify the positive role of miR-218 in chemosensitivity, which will facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer in the future.