MicroRNA-1301 induces cell proliferation by downregulating ICAT expression in breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies among gynecological diseases in the world and the long-term prognosis for breast cancer patients still remains dismal due to lack of effective early diagnosis biomarkers. Identifying sensitive and specific biomarkers in carcinogenesis may improve diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for this malignancy. Herein, we show that the expression of miR-1301 was markedly upregulated in breast cancer cell lines and tissues, and upregulation of miR-1301 enhanced, whereas downregulation of miR-1301 inhibited the proliferation of breast cancer cells in vitro. Furthermore, by biological approaches, we showed that miR-1301 directly targeted and suppressed ICAT expression, an important modulator of Wnt/β-Catenin pathway. These data suggests that miR-1301 may represent a novel therapeutic target of microRNA-mediated cell proliferation in breast cancer.