Pituitary tumor-transforming gene 1 enhances metastases of cervical cancer cells through miR-3666-regulated ZEB1

Early cancer metastases often occur in cervical cancer (CC) patients, resulting in poor prognosis and poor therapeutic outcome after resection of primary cancer. Hence, there is a compelling requirement for elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the CC cell invasiveness. Recently, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) and pituitary tumor-transforming gene 1 (Pttg1) in the carcinogenesis of CC has been reported. Nevertheless, the relationship between miRNAs and Pttg1 remains ill-defined. Here, we showed that the levels of miR-3666 were significantly decreased and the levels of zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) and Pttg1 were significantly increased in the CC specimens from patients, compared to the paired non-tumor tissue. Moreover, the levels of miR-3666 and ZEB1 inversely correlated. Bioinformatics analyses showed that miR-3666 targeted the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of ZEB1 messenger RNA (mRNA) to inhibit its translation, which was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, Pttg1 overexpression inhibited miR-3666 and subsequently increased ZEB1 and cell invasion, while Pttg1 depletion increased miR-3666 and subsequently decreased ZEB1 and cell invasion. Together, our data suggest that Pttg1 may increase CC cell metastasis, possibly through miR-3666-regulated ZEB1 levels.