TPX2 regulated by miR-29c-3p induces cell proliferation in osteosarcoma via the AKT signaling pathway

The present study aimed to investigate the significance of targeting protein for Xenopus kinesin-like protein 2 (TPX2) expression in osteosarcoma. First, the TPX2 expression and survival analysis data were evaluated from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Next, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was used to explore the expression of TPX2 in osteosarcoma tissues. The observed potential target relationship between TPX2 and microRNA (miR)-29c-3p was verified using TargetScan and luciferase reporter assays. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to determine associations between TPX2 expression levels and survival prognosis. TPX2 small interfering RNA was successfully constructed and transfected into osteosarcoma cell lines. The effects of TPX2 on osteosarcoma cell proliferation were then detected by MTT assay. In addition, the expression levels of AKT signaling pathway-associated proteins were identified by western blot analysis. The expression of TPX2 was upregulated and the expression of miR-29c-3p was downregulated in osteosarcoma. High expression of TPX2 was linked to a poor prognosis. Using luciferase assay and the miRNA mimic and inhibitors, miR-29c-3p was able to target and repress TPX2, and siRNA knockdown of TPX2 resulted in the inhibition of osteosarcoma cell proliferation by affecting the AKT pathway. Overall, the study showed that miR-29c-3p could inhibit the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells via TPX2 downregulation, and that TPX2 and miR-29c-3p may serve as promising prognostic indicators.