MicroRNA-133a, downregulated in osteosarcoma, suppresses proliferation and promotes apoptosis by targeting Bcl-xL and Mcl-1

- miR-133a expression is downregulated in osteosarcoma.
- Downregulated miR-133a correlates with osteosarcoma progression and prognosis.
- miR-133a reduces cell viability and promotes cell apoptosis in osteosarcoma.
- miR-133a targets Bcl-xL and Mcl-1 to promote apoptosis.

Deregulated microRNAs and their roles in cancer development have attracted much attention. Although miR-133a has been shown to be important in osteogenesis, its roles in osteosarcoma carcinogenesis and progression remain unknown. Hence, we focused on the expression and mechanisms of miR-133a in osteosarcoma development in this study. We found that miR-133a was downregulated in osteosarcoma cell lines and primary human osteosarcoma tissues, and its decrease was significantly correlated with tumor progression and prognosis of the patients. Functional studies revealed that restoration of miR-133a could reduce cell proliferation, promote cell apoptosis, and suppress tumorigenicity in osteosarcoma cell lines. Furthermore, bioinformatic prediction and experimental validation were applied to identify target genes of miR-133a, and the results revealed that the anti-tumor effect of miR-133a was probably due to targeting and repressing of Bcl-xL and Mcl-1 expression. Taken together, our data elucidate the roles of miR-133a in osteosarcoma pathogenesis and implicate its potential in cancer therapy.