Exosomal microRNA-301a-3p promotes the proliferation and invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by targeting BTG1 mRNA

Aberrant microRNA (miRNA/miR) expression plays an important role in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In the present study, the role and underlying molecular mechanism of miR-301a-3p in NPC cells were determined. It was observed that miR-301a-3p upregulation promoted NPC cell proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in vitro, whereas its downregulation resulted in the opposite effect. B-cell translocation gene 1 (BTG1) mRNA was identified as the novel target of miR-301a-3p. BTG1 overexpression partially attenuated miR-301a-3p-induced increase in cell proliferation and invasion. miR-301a-3p can be transferred by exosomes and positively regulate the proliferation and invasion of NPC cells. Altogether, the present study highlights that exosomal miR-301a-3p can promote NPC cell proliferation and invasion by repressing BTG1, thereby resulting in the development of NPC.