MiR-30a-5p is induced by Wnt/β-catenin pathway and promotes glioma cell invasion by repressing NCAM.

Abstract Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is frequently dysregulated in human tumors and plays a critical role in tumorigenesis; however, the roles of microRNAs in mediating Wnt/β-catenin pathway are not well understood. Herein, we show that miR-30a-5p is activated by Wnt/β-catenin pathway through direct binding of β-catenin/TCF4 to two sites in the promoter region of miR-30a-5p. We also found that miR-30a-5p represses neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) expression by directly targeting two sites in the 3′ untranslated region (3′-UTR) of NCAM mRNA. Moreover, Wnt/β-catenin pathway represses NCAM expression in glioma cells, which depends on miR-30a-5p. Finally, we found that miR-30a-5p promotes glioma cell growth invasion by repressing NCAM. Our findings demonstrate a novel Wnt/β-catenin–miR-30a-5p–NCAM regulatory axis which plays important roles in controlling glioma cell invasion and tumorigenesis.