The NF-κB modulated miR-194-5p/IGF1R/PPFIBP axis is crucial for the tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer

miRNAs are involved in the tumorigenesis of various malignancies. In the current study, we found that miR-194-5p expression is downregulated in ovarian cancer tissues, and downregulation of miR-194-5p expression promotes proliferation, invasion and migration of human ovarian cancer cells in vitro and ovarian tumor growth in nude mice. We further found that IGF1R and PPFIBP are targets of miR-194-5p, and downregulation of miR-194-5p expression increases IGF1R and PPFIBP expression, resulting in increased proliferation, invasion and migration of ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, we showed that NF-κB can bind to the promoter region of miR-194-5p, and negatively regulate the expression of miR-194-5p in ovarian cancer cells. Taken together, our results suggested a NF-κB modulated miR-194-5p/IGF1R/ PPFIBP axis that is crucial for the tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer, which provides a new insight into the development of ovarian cancer.