Tumor suppressor microRNA-613 inhibits glioma cell proliferation, invasion and angiogenesis by targeting vascular endothelial growth factor A

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs which can serve as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in glioma. The present study aimed to investigate the expression of miR-613 in glioma. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect miR-613 in glioma cells and tissues and the relationship between miR-613 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A was assessed using a luciferase reporter assay. In addition, glioma cells were transfected with miR-613 mimics and the mRNA and protein expression of VEGFA was detected using RT-qPCR and western blot analysis, respectively. The proliferative, invasive and tube formation capabilities of transfected cells were also assessed in vitro. Furthermore, a nude mouse tumor xenograft model was used to investigate the effects of miR-613 on tumor growth in vivo. The results of the present study demonstrated that the expression of miR-613 was decreased in glioma cell lines, and was associated with the grade of glioma. Ectopic expression of miR-613 markedly suppressed glioma cell proliferation and angiogenesis. Furthermore, the upregulation of miR-613 inhibited tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth in xenografted nude mice in vivo. VEGFA was demonstrated as a direct target of miR-613, as detected by western blot and luciferase reporter assays, and mediated miR-613 induced glioma cell proliferation and angiogenesis inhibition.