miR-186-3p attenuates the tumorigenesis of cervical cancer via targeting insulin-like growth factor 1 to suppress PI3K-Akt signaling pathway

ABSTRACT

miR-186-3p acts as a tumor suppressor in various cancers. This study aimed to explore the expression levels of miR-186-3p and its role in cervical cancer. We analyzed the effects of miR-186-3p and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) on the proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of cervical cancer cells in vitro by regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. In cervical cancer tissues and cells, miR-186-3p was downregulated, and IGF1 was upregulated. In addition, miR-186-3p inhibited cell proliferation and invasion and enhanced apoptosis of cervical cancer cells. Moreover, our results showed that miR-186-3p inversely regulated the mRNA expression of IGF1 through direct contact. Knockdown of IGF1 reversed the results of miR-186-3p inhibitor in cervical cancer cells. In addition, the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was activated by the miR-186-3p inhibitor, although partially arrested by IGF1 knockdown. The PI3K/Akt signaling pathway inhibitor suppressed miR-186-3p inhibitor-stimulated cell proliferation in cervical cancer. In conclusion, miR-186-3p inhibits tumorigenesis of cervical cancer by repressing IGF1, which inactivates the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, implicating miR-186-3p as a potential new target for the treatment of cervical cancer.

KEYWORDS:

• Cervical cancer
• miR-186-3p
• IGF1
• PI3K/AKT
• tumorigenesis

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Authors’ contributions

XS and XH performed the experiments and data analysis. XL and XZ conceived and designed the study. NY and HM made the acquisition of data. ZZ did the analysis and interpretation of data. XL wrote and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University (Hebei, China). All patients signed written informed consent.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Zhangjiakou City's 2020 Municipal Science and Technology Plan Self-financing Project (Grant Number: 2021053D).