miR-148b-3p inhibits malignant biological behaviors of human glioma cells induced by high HOTAIR expression

Increasing evidence suggests that long non coding (lnc)RNA and microRNA (miRNA/miR) both regulate the expression of key genes in tumorigenesis and have considerable theranostic potential. Rapid advances in bioinformatics indicate that miRNA may potentially interact with lncRNA to modulate their regulatory roles. miR-148b-3p has been reported to have a vital role in regulating tumor progression. However, the expression pattern of miR-148b-3p in glioma remains largely unknown, and interactions between miR-148b-3p and lncRNA has yet to be identified. The aim of the present study was to insight into the regulatory role of miR-148b-3p in glioma. Using online software, the HOTAIR gene was identified as a possible lncRNA target of miR-148b-3p in the present study. siRNA was used to suppress the expression of HOTAIR and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of miR-148b-3p. The results confirmed that HOTAIR mRNA expression was inversely correlated with miR-148b-3p expression in A172 glioma cells. Furthermore, a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was performed to detect the viability of cells, flow cytometry was performed to test cell cycle and a matrigel invasion assay was performed to test cell invasion. The results showed that HOTAIR promotes factors associated with malignancy, including cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and invasion, whereas miR-148b-3p suppresses malignancy. Bioinformatics and luciferase reporter assays showed that miR-148b-3p modulates HOTAIR expression by directly targeting the HOTAIR gene sequence. In summary, the results indicated that miR-148b-3p inhibits malignant biological behaviors of glioma cells by directly targeting HOTAIR. The current data provide important evidence for understanding the key roles of the lncRNA miRNA functional network in glioma.