Hsa-miR-513b-5p suppresses cell proliferation and promotes P53 expression by targeting IRF2 in testicular embryonal carcinoma cells

Previous studies have reported the miR-513b is located on the X chromosome and is preferentially expressed in testis. However, the underlying mechanisms of miR-513b involved in spermatogenesis remains unknown. In this study, we found that hsa-miR-513b-5p was highly expressed in the testes of infertile males with maturation arrest compared with normal controls. Overexpression of hsa-miR-513b-5p suppressed testicular embryonal carcinoma (NT2) cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in vitro, whereas silencing of hsa-miR-513b-5p reversed these effects. In addition, we found that interferon regulatory transcription factor 2 (IRF2) was a direct and functional target of hsa-miR-513b-5p. Silencing of endogenous IRF2 enhanced hsa-miR-513b-5p-mediated effects on cell proliferation in NT2 cells, whereas overexpression of IRF2 reversed these effects. Moreover, immunoblotting showed that overexpression of hsa-miR-513b-5p or silencing of endogenous IRF2 could promote the expression of P53. Moreover, overexpression of hsa-miR-513b-5p in the absence of p53 could also induce cell apoptosis. Together, our results suggest that hsa-miR-513b-5p suppresses NT2 cell proliferation and promotes P53 protein expression by targeting IRF2, and abnormal testicular hsa-miR-513b-5p expression may contribute to maturation arrest.