Upregulation of miR-181s reverses mesenchymal transition by targeting KPNA4 in glioblastoma

The goal of this work was to explore the most effective miRNAs affecting glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) phenotype transition and malignant progression. We annotated 491 TCGA samples’ miRNA expression profiles according to their mRNA-based subtypes and found that the mesenchymal tumors had significantly decreased miR-181 family expression compared with the other three subtypes while the proneural subtype harbored extremely high miR-181 family expression. Patients with high miR-181 family expression had longer overall survival (p = 0.0031). We also confirmed that NF-κB-targeting genes and the EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) pathway were inversely correlated with miR-181 family expression and that the entire miR-181 family inhibited glioma cell invasion and proliferation; of these, miR-181b was the most effective suppressor. Furthermore, miR-181b was validated to suppress EMT by targeting KPNA4 and was associated with survival outcome in the TCGA and CGGA datasets and in another independent cohort. The EMT-inhibitory effect of miR-181b was lost after KPNA4 expression was restored. We also identified the antitumorigenic activity of miR-181b in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that miR-181 family expression was closely correlated with TCGA subtypes and patients’ overall survival, indicating that miR-181b, a tumor-suppressive miRNA, could be a novel therapeutic candidate for treating gliomas.