MiR-26a-5p regulates proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion via inhibiting hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase like-2 in cervical cancer cell

BACKGROUND: Evidences have indicated that miR-26a-5p regulates the malignant properties of various tumor cells. However, the influences of miR-26a-5p on proliferation, apoptosis and invasion are still vague in the cervical cancer (CC) cells. METHODS: The miRNA microarray and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis were utilized to detect the expression of miR-26a-5p in the patients with CC. Kaplan–Meier plotter was performed to evaluate the overall survival (OS) of the patients with CC. The CCK-8, flow cytometry, transwell and wound healing analyses were respectively used to analyze proliferation, migration and invasion in the CC cells. RT-qPCR, western blot and IHC analysis were executed to measure the expression of hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase like-2 (HSDL2) in the patients with CC. Bioinformatics and luciferase reporter assay were carried out to verify the relationship of miR-26a-5p and HSDL2. RESULTS: The expression of miR-26a-5p was downregulated and low expression of miR-26a-5p indicated a poor OS in patients with CC. Overexpression of miR-26a-5p significantly inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion, accelerated apoptosis in the Hela and C33A cells. The expression of HSDL2 was upregulated, and negatively correlated with miR-26a-5p in the patients with CC. HSDL2 was directly targeted by miR-26a-5p and rescue experiments displayed that HSDL2 partially abolished proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion induced by miR-26a-5p in CC cells. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-26a-5p alleviated progression of CC by suppressing proliferation, migration and invasion, promoting apoptosis through downregulating HSDL2. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09970-x.