MicroRNA‑940 promotes cell proliferation and invasion of glioma by directly targeting Kruppel‑like factor 9

: MicroRNA‑940 (miR‑940) has been extensively studied in the pathogenesis of numerous types of human cancer; however, the expression pattern, roles and molecular mechanisms underlying the regulatory actions of miR‑940 in glioma remain unknown. The present study aimed to further investigate miR‑940 by studying its expression, roles and mechanisms of action in glioma. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) was used to detect miR‑940 expression in glioma tissues and cell lines. The regulatory effects of miR‑940 in glioma cell proliferation and invasion were determined using MTT and cell invasion assays. Bioinformatics analyses was performed to identify the potential target of miR‑940, which was further confirmed by luciferase reporter assay, RT‑qPCR and western blot analysis. In the present study, significantly increased miR‑940 expression levels were observed in glioma tissues and cell lines compared with normal brain tissues and normal human astrocytes, respectively. Decreased miR‑940 expression levels attenuated glioma cell proliferation and invasion in vitro. Kruppel‑like factor 9 (KLF9) was predicted as a potential target of miR‑940. Further assays demonstrated that miR‑940 negatively regulated KLF9 expression in glioma cells by directly targeting the 3'‑untranslated regions of KLF9. Additionally, KLF9 expression was downregulated in glioma tissues and was inversely correlated with miR‑940. Furthermore, KLF9 knockdown was able to rescue the effects of miR‑940 on glioma cell proliferation and invasion. The results of the present study suggest that miR‑940 may function as an oncogene in glioma by targeting KLF9 and may be a considered a therapeutic target for the treatment of gliomas.