MicroRNA-198 inhibited tumorous behaviors of human osteosarcoma through directly targeting ROCK1

Osteosarcoma is an aggressive primary sarcoma of bone and occurs mainly in adolescents and young adults. The prognosis of OS remains poor, and most of them will die due to local relapse or metastases. The discovery of microRNAs provides a new possibility for the early diagnosis and treatment of OS. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the expression and functions of microRNA-198 (miR-198) in osteosarcoma. The expression levels of miR-198 were determined by qRT-PCR in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. Cell proliferation assays, migration and invasion assays were adopted to investigate the effects of miR-198 on tumorous behaviors of osteosarcoma cells. The results showed that miR-198 expression levels were lower in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. In addition, low miR-198 expression levels were correlated with TNM stage and distant metastasis. After miR-198 mimics transfection, cell proliferation, migration and invasion were significantly suppressed in the osteosarcoma cells. Furthermore, ROCK1 was identified as a novel direct target of miR-198 in osteosarcoma. These findings suggested that miR-198 may act not only as a novel prognostic marker, but also as a potential target for molecular therapy of osteosarcoma.