MicroRNA-96 (miR-96) has been revealed serve an oncogenic role in various types of cancer. However, the role of miR-96 in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) development and progression is yet to be elucidated. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role of miR-96 in CCA. The expression pattern of miR-96 in CCA tissues and cell lines was evaluated using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR analysis. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analyses were conducted to investigate the prognostic significance of miR-96 in CCA. Cell Counting Kit-8 and Transwell assays were performed to identify the functions of miR-96. The association between miR-96 and metastasis suppressor-1 (MTSS1) was verified using a dual-luciferase assay. The results demonstrated that miR-96 expression levels were increased in CCA tissues and cell lines compared with those in adjacent normal tissues and normal human intrahepatic biliary epithelial cell lines, respectively. High expression levels of miR-96 were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, differentiation and TNM stage. In addition, upregulated expression of miR-96 was associated with a poorer prognosis and was predicted to be a prognostic factor in patients with CCA. Overexpression of miR-96 in vitro promoted CCA cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Additionally, MTSS1 was identified as a direct target of miR-96. The results of the present study indicated the clinical and biological importance of miR-96 as an oncogene in CCA. miR-96 may represent an independent prognostic biomarker and may promote CCA cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting MTSS1.
Keywords: cholangiocarcinoma; invasion; microRNA-96; migration; prognosis; proliferation.
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