MicroRNA-409-3p inhibits osteosarcoma cell migration and invasion by targeting catenin-δ1

• Downregulation of miR-409-3p expression is associated with osteosarcoma metastasis.
• MiR-409-3p suppresses osteosarcoma cell migration and invasion.
• Catenin-δ1 is a direct target of miR-409-3p in osteosarcoma cells.
• Catenin-δ1 rescues the inhibitory effects of miR-409-3p on cell migration and invasion.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone cancer which is associated with early metastatic potential and poor prognosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying osteosarcoma progression are not well characterized. Here, we investigated the role of miR-409-3p in osteosarcoma metastasis. Osteosarcoma tissue showed decreased expression of miR-409-3p compared to adjacent non-tumorous tissue. The expression level of miR-409-3p was negatively correlated with osteosarcoma metastasis. Overexpression of miR-409-3p in osteosarcoma cells (U2OS) inhibited cell migration and invasion. Bioinformatics analysis showed that catenin-δ1 (CTNND1, p120-catenin) is a direct target of miR-409-3p. Overexpression of miR-409-3p repressed the expression of catenin-δ1 in U2OS cells at both mRNA and protein levels. Meanwhile, miR-409-3p repressed the activity of luciferase reporter containing the 3′-untranslated region (3′UTR) of CTNND1 gene. Furthermore, expression of catenin-δ1 rescued the inhibitory effect of miR-409-3p on cell migration and invasion. Altogether, these results indicated that miR-409-3p targets catenin-δ1 to repress osteosarcoma metastasis.