MicroRNA-520b affects the proliferation of human glioblastoma cells by directly targeting cyclin D1

Glioblastoma (GBM) represents one of most common tumors in humans. However, the biological processes and molecular mechanisms of GBM are still unclear. It is known that microRNA-520b (miR-520b) participates in the development of various tumor progressions. The present study was to evaluate the level of miR-520b in GBM tissues and cells. We further investigated the molecular mechanisms of miR-520b in U87 and U251 cell lines. Here, our data showed that the expression levels of miR-520b were significantly reduced in clinical GBM tissues and cell lines. Accordingly, the expression levels of cyclin D1 were significantly increased in clinical GBM tissues and cell lines. Ectopic expression of miR-520b in U87 and U251 cells resulted in decreased cell proliferation and enhanced cell apoptosis. Further study characterized the 3′ untranslated region (3′-UTR) of cyclin D1 gene as a direct target of miR-520b in U87 and U251 cells as determined by luciferase reporter assays. In addition, ectopic expression of miR-520b led to the down-regulation of phosphorylated retinoblastoma (p-Rb, a downstream effector of cyclin D1), while the overexpression of cyclin D1 reversed the miR-520b-induced inhibition of p-Rb expression. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of miR-520b in regulating the proliferation and apoptosis of GBM by directly targeting cyclin D1, and miR-520b may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for GBM.