MiR-20a acted as a ceRNA of lncRNA PTENPL and promoted bladder cancer cell proliferation and migration by regulating PDCD4.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Bladder cancer is the most frequent tumor of the urinary system. Despite variety of new treatment options, bladder cancer remains a main global medical problem. Our purpose was to explore the potential molecular and therapeutic targets of bladder cancer diagnosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The qRT-PCR was used to assess the expression of miR-20a in tissues and cell lines. Counting Cell Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was carried out to evaluate cell proliferation. Cell migration was calculated using the transwell assay. RESULTS: The expression of miR-20a increased and PDCD4 decreased in bladder cancer tissues compared with normal tissues. Overexpression of miR-20a promoted T24 cell proliferation and migration, while miR-20a inhibitor suppressed cell proliferation and migration. MiR-20a targeted PDCD4 to regulate its expression in T24 cells. MiR-20a is inversely related to PDCD4 and PTENPL in bladder cancer tissues. Upregulation of PDCD4 suppressed T24 cell proliferation and migration. CONCLUSIONS: The PTENP1/miR-20a/PTEN axis was involved in the progression of bladder cancer. Our study investigated the function of miR-20a in bladder cancer and provided new insights into the treatment of bladder cancer.