miR‑126 regulates the progression of epithelial ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo by targeting VEGF‑A.

MicroRNA (miRNA/miR‑126) has been shown to be associated with ovarian cancer in previous studies. In ovarian cancer, however, the specific status of miR‑126 remains largely unknown. In the present study, to clarify its role in ovarian cancer, the levels of miR‑126 were first examined using laser microdissection and RT‑qPCR. It was found that the miR‑126 level was decreased in ovarian tissue samples and the restoration of miR‑126 inhibited cell proliferation, cell invasion and migration in vitro and suppressed tumor growth in vivo. A bioinformatics search revealed that the angiogenesis‑related gene, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‑A, was among the potential targets of miR‑126. The suppression of invasion and proliferation induced by ectopic miR‑126 expression was nullified by the ectopic expression of VEGF‑A, suggesting that these suppressive effects were largely attributable to the ability of miR‑126 to target VEGF‑A. Moreover, the restoration of miR‑126 suppressed the angiogenic potential of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). On the whole, these findings indicate that the loss of expression of miR‑126 contributes to the abnormal VEGF‑A accumulation and subsequent unchecked cell invasion and cell proliferation in epithelial ovarian cancer.