MiR-592 suppresses the development of glioma by regulating Rho-associated protein kinase.

MicroRNAs are a class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate the translation of target mRNA transcripts. MiR-592 has been considered to play important roles in the initiation and progression of cancer by targeting various molecules in several human cancers, but its role in glioma has not been explored. This study aims to explore the suppressive mechanism of miR-592 in the regulation of glioma development, an effect that is crucial for the further exploration of miR-592 as a novel therapeutic target for glioma. Our results proved that the expression of miR-592 was lower and the expression of Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK1) was higher in glioma tissue than in adjacent tissue and that lower miR-592 expression was associated negatively with ROCK1 expression. Then, we showed that miR-592 was downregulated in glioma and could suppress the growth of the glioma cell lines U87 and U251. ROCK1, which is a known oncogene, was identified as a direct target of miR-592. A luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-592 regulates ROCK1 expression through binding to its 3'-UTR. Furthermore, our results showed that miR-592 targets the ROCK1 transcript and suppresses glioma cell growth and invasive growth, thereby providing a potential therapeutic target for glioma treatment.