MiR-150 promotes the cell invasion of prostate cancer cells by directly regulating the expression of p53.

Therapeutic targeting of p53 has been implicated as a promising strategy for cancer treatment. MiRNAs are emerging as important modulators of invasion, regulation of p53. Resent reports have shown that miR-150 is involved in the growth, invasion and metastasis in numerous tumor types. However, the role of miR-150 in prostate cancer pathology is unclear. In this study, we firstly determined the miR-150 expression levels of prostate cancer cell lines by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The effects of miR-150 on prostate cancer cell proliferation and invasion were evaluated using MTT, colony and transwell assays. The target of miR-150 was identified and confirmed using a luciferase activity assay. The results revealed that miR-150 was significantly upregulated in prostate cancer cells compared with RWPE-1 normal prostate epithelial cells. The ectopic expression of miR-150 significantly promoted prostate cancer cell proliferation, colony formation and invasion. In addition, p53 was confirmed as a downstream target of miR-150 in the prostate cancer cells by western blot and qRT-PCR analysis as well as luciferase activity assays. Together, these findings show that miR-150 promotes prostate cancer cell proliferation and invasion by targeting p53, suggesting that targeting miR-150 may be a potential therapeutic strategy in prostate cancer patients.