Study of miR-10b regulatory mechanism for epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion and migration in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

The aim of the study was to investigate the miR-10b regulatory mechanism for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its effect on the proliferation and migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of miR-10b in CNE1 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line. The NP69 nasopharyngeal mucosal cell line was used to determine the expression of miR-10b after infection with lentivirus. The effect of miR-10b on the proliferation of NP69 was examined using cell counting kit-8. The effect of miR-10b on NP69 migration was examined using scratch assay. Western blot analysis was used to detect the effects of miR-10b on the expression of epithelial cell markers E-cadherin and β-catenin and mesenchymal cell markers fibronectin, N-cadherin, vimentin and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). The present study showed that miR-10b was highly expressed in CNE1 cells. The stable expression of miR-10b promoted the proliferation and migration of NP69 cells, downregulated the expression of epithelial cell markers E-cadherin and β-catenin, and upregulated the expression of mesenchymal cell markers fibronectin, N-cadherin, vimentin and MMP-9 resulting in cell EMT. In conclusion, miR-10b promotes the proliferation and migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, and induces EMT in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, thereby having the potential to become a new target for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.