MicroRNA-542-3p represses OTUB1 expression to inhibit migration and invasion of esophageal cancer cells

Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) is involved in the pathogenesis of esophageal cancer. miRNA (miR)-542-3p is a tumor suppressor in multiple types of cancer. However, whether and how miR-542-3p contributes to the progression of esophageal cancer remains unknown, and this is the aim of the present study. In the current study, decreased expression of miR-542-3p was detected in tumor tissues compared with normal tissues from patients with esophageal cancer, and miR-542-3p expression was negatively correlated with mRNA expression levels of ovarian tumor domain-containing ubiquitin aldehyde-binding protein 1 (OTUB1) in tumor tissues from patients with esophageal cancer. In KYSE150 human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells, overexpression of miR-542-3p significantly decreased OTUB1 at mRNA and protein levels, whereas downregulation of miR-542-3p significantly increased OTUB1 expression. Using a dual-luciferase assay, OTUB1 was validated to be a target gene of miR-542-3p in KYSE150 cells. Functionally, miR-542-3p significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of KYSE150 cells by repression of OTUB1 expression. These results demonstrated that miR-542-3p may promote the metastasis of esophageal cancer cells, and indicated that miR-542-3p may be a treatment target for esophageal cancer.