Down-regulation of miR-1246 in cervical cancer tissues and its clinical significance

•Low expression of miR-1246 in cervical cancer tissues.•MiR-1246 is involved in the progression of cervical cancer.•HPV16E6 regulates DYRK1A expression through miR-1246.

ObjectiveMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of mRNAs by binding to their 3′-untranslated regions (UTRs). Accumulating evidences show that miRNAs are involved in tumorigenesis such as lung cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, and cervical cancer. In this study, we focused on the expression of miR-1246 in clinical cervical cancer tissues as well as the relationship between miR-1246 and HPV16E6 infection status.MethodsReal-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction technology was used to detect the expression of miR-1246 in 68 cervical cancer tissues and 52 normal tissues. The expression of miR-1246 also was tested in HPV16E6 negative cervical cell line (SiHa) or HPV16E6 positive cell line (C33A). Western blot was performed to detect the expression of DYRK1A after knocking down HPV16E6.ResultsOur data showed that the expression of miR-1246 was dramatically decreased in cervical cancer tissue, compared with normal control group (p = 0.0012), and miR-1246 was negatively correlated with clinical stage and HPV16E6 infected status (p = 0.0410), but no correlation was observed with age, tumor diameter, cervical invasion depth, lymph node metastasis, or vascular invasion (p > 0.05). Knock down of HPV16E6 significantly raised DYRK1A protein expression targeted by miR-1246.ConclusionsThe expression of miR-1246 is negatively correlated with cervical cancer procedure as well as HPV16E6 infection status and the miR-1246 may act as a diagnostic biomarker for cervical cancer. In addition, HPV16E6 infection may be a major reason leading to decrease the expression of miR-1246 in cervical cancer. This finding contributes to deep understanding of the miR-1246 function in cervical carcinogenesis.