microRNA-211 regulates cell proliferation, apoptosis and migration/invasion in human osteosarcoma via targeting EZRIN

BACKGROUND: In recent years, microRNA-211 (miR211) has been considered as a tumor suppressor in multiple malignancies. However, the function of miR211 in human osteosarcoma has not been explored intensively so far. In this study, the relationship between miR211 and EZRIN was analyzed in human osteosarcoma. METHODS: The expression levels of miR211 and EZRIN were measured in both human osteosarcoma cells and tissues. The direct regulatory relationship between miR211 and EZRIN was evaluated using dual-luciferase assay. The effect of miR211 and EZRIN overexpression on cell proliferation, migration/invasion, and apoptosis was detected. RESULTS: The expression of miR211 was obviously lower in osteosarcoma tissues than paracancerous tissues. EZRIN was identified as the direct target of miR211, and up-regulation of miR211 increased the percentage of cell apoptosis, and suppressed cell proliferation as well as cell migration/invasion via directly regulating EZRIN. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that miR211 has an important role in the development and progress of osteosarcoma, and it might become a novel target in the diagnosis and treatment of human osteosarcoma. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s11658-019-0173-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.