miR-365 functions as a tumor suppressor by directly targeting CYR61 in osteosarcoma

Abstract Increasing evidence indicates that microRNAs(miRNAs) are often aberrantly expressed in osteosarcoma (OS) and play critical roles in OS tumorigenesis. Therefore, the discovery of miRNAs may provide a new and powerful tool for understanding the mechanismof OS initiation and development. The aim of this study was to investigate the functional significance of miR-365 and identify its possible mechanism in OS cells. Here, wefound that the expression level of miR-365 is significantly downregulated in OS tissues and cell lines, and its expression isassociated with the clinical stage, distant metastasis, tumor grade, and poor overall survival rate. The overexpression of miR-365 is able to inhibit cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in Saos-2 and MG-63 cells. Moreover, the cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 (CYR61) has been identified as a target of miR-365 in OS cells, and its expression is found to be significantly increased in OS tissues, which is negatively correlated with miR-365. Furthermore, CYR61 overexpression significantly attenuated the suppressive effects of miR-365 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of Saos-2 and MG-63 cells. Therefore, we consider that miR-365 acts as a tumor suppressor in OS, partly, by targeting CYR61 expression.