MicroRNA-7 downregulates XIAP expression to suppress cell growth and promote apoptosis in cervical cancer cells

•miR-7 is downregulated in cervical cancer tissues.•miR-7 suppresses cell growth and promotes apoptosis in cervical cancer cell lines.•XIAP transcript is a direct target of miR-7.•Knockdown of XIAP suppresses cell growth and promotes apoptosis in cervical cancer cell lines.

Our study demonstrated the functions of microRNA-7 (miR-7) in cervical cancer. The overexpression of miR-7 in the cervical cancer cell lines HeLa and C-33A suppressed cell viability and promoted cell apoptosis, whereas the inhibition of miR-7 had opposite effects. Furthermore, an oncogene, X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), was identified as a new target of miR-7, and the ectopic expression of XIAP rescued the effects induced by miR-7 in HeLa and C-33A cells. These results indicate that miR-7 targeted and downregulated the oncogene XIAP to regulate the effect of miR-7 on apoptosis and malignant behaviors of HeLa and C-33A cells.