MicroRNA‑675 inhibits cell proliferation and invasion in melanoma by directly targeting metadherin.

Melanoma is derived from melanocytes and accounts for ~80% of skin cancer-associated fatalities worldwide. The dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) is involved in the development and progression of melanoma. Therefore, miRNAs may be novel diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers and promising therapeutic targets in the treatment of patients with melanoma. miR‑675 is differentially expressed in several types of human cancer and has important roles in the pathogenesis of several diseases. However, the expression levels and the biological roles of miR‑675 in melanoma remain unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the expression of miR‑675 in melanoma, explore the effects of miR‑675 on melanoma cells and investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms that may be involved in the actions of miR‑675. The present study indicated that miR‑675 expression was downregulated in melanoma tissues and cell lines. Functional assays demonstrated that the upregulation of miR‑675 impaired cell proliferation and invasion in melanoma. Bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter assay, reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis demonstrated that metadherin (MTDH) was a direct target of miR‑675 in melanoma. The MTDH levels were upregulated in melanoma tissues and inversely correlated with the miR‑675 expression. Furthermore, restored MTDH expression rescued the inhibition effects in melanoma cells caused by miR‑675 overexpression. Thus, miR‑675 may be a potential therapeutic target for melanoma.