MicroRNA-320a suppresses tumour cell proliferation and invasion of renal cancer cells by targeting FoxM1

An increasing body of evidence has indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) may play an important role in tumourigenesis and tumour progression. Recent studies have demonstrated that miR-320a is aberrantly expressed in a variety of different types of human cancer. The results of the present study confirmed that the expression of miR-320a was decreased in clinical specimens and cell lines. Expression of miR-320a inhibited the growth and invasive ability of ACHN and Caki-1 cells. Bioinformatics analysis and a luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that forkhead box protein M1 (FoxM1) was directly regulated by miR-320a. Rescue experiments in vitro revealed that the upregulation of FoxM1 antagonized the miR-320a-mediated malignant phenotype in renal cancer. Furthermore, experiments employing a xenograft mouse model revealed that the upregulation of miR-320a inhibited the proliferation of renal cancer cells in nude mice when FoxM1 protein expression was reduced. Collectively, the present study demonstrated a novel molecular interaction regulated by miR-320a, which may provide a novel insight into the treatments for renal cancer.