Abstract:

Objective To explore the influence of miR-375/SHOX2 axis in invasion and migration ability of esophageal squamous cell carcinomas （ESCC） by using cells in vitro， for searching potential new targets in therapy for ESCC. Methods Human ESCC cells，including kyse-70 and kyse-30 in the logarithmic growth phase were used in this study. The colony formation assay，Wound healing assay，MTT assay and Transwell assay were used to testify the effect of over-expression or down-expression of miR-375 or SHOX2 gene on ESCC cells. Then， rescue experiment was used to test the interaction between miR-375 and SHOX2. Results Compared with the negative control group， the proliferation rate， clone forming rate and penetrating number by Transwell were significantly reduced in cells after being over-expressed miR-375 or down-expressed SHOX2 （P＜0.01）. In contrast， compared with the negative control group， the proliferation rate， clone forming rate and penetrating number by Transwell were significantly increased in cells after being down-expressed miR-375 or over-expressed SHOX2 （P＜0.01）. SHOX2 expression was reduced by the over-expression of miR-375， while induced by the down-expression of miR-375 on ESCC cells. Rescue experiment showed co-transfection with miR-375 and SHOX2 reversed the low ability of proliferation and migration induced by over-expression of miR-375. Conclusion miR-375 could inhibit the ability of proliferation， invasion and metastasis of ESCC cells. SHOX2 could promote the ability of proliferation， invasion and metastasis of ESCC cells. The expression of SHOX2 could be regulated by miR-375 for proliferation， invasion and metastasis of ESCC cells. Therefore， miR-375 and SHOX2 could be new potential targets for drug treatment in ESCC.