Kaiso (ZBTB33) Downregulation by Mirna-181a Inhibits Cell Proliferation, Invasion, and the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Glioma Cells.

Background/Aims: Kaiso (ZBTB33) expression is closely associated with the progression of many cancers and microRNA (miRNA) processing. MiR-181a plays critical roles in multiple cancers; however, its precise mechanisms in glioma have not been well clarified. The goal of this study was to evaluate the interaction between Kaiso and miR-181a in glioma. Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR (q RT-PCR) was performed to detect the levels of Kaiso and mi R-181a in glioma tissues and cell lines. Cell proliferation, invasion, and the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) were evaluated to analyze the biological functions of miR-181a and Kaiso in glioma cells. The mRNA and protein levels of Kaiso were measured by qRT-PCR and western blotting, respectively. Meanwhile, luciferase assays were performed to validate Kaiso as a miR181a target in glioma cells. Results: We found that the level of miR-181a was the lowest among miR-181a-d in glioma tissues and cell lines, and the low level of miR-181a was closely associated with the increased expression of Kaiso in glioma tissues. Moreover, transfection of miR-181a significantly inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and EMT of glioma cells, whereas knockdown of miR-181a had the opposite effect. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that Kaiso was a potential target gene of miR-181a, and the luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that miR-181a could directly target Kaiso. In addition, Kaiso silencing had similar effects as miR181a overexpression in glioma cells, whereas overexpression of Kaiso in glioma cells partially reversed the inhibitory effects of the miR-181a mimic. Conclusionss: miR-181a inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and EMT of glioma cells by directly targeting and downregulating Kaiso expression. (C) 2018 The Author(s) Published by S Karger AG, Basel