miRNA­199b­3p suppresses growth and progression of ovarian cancer via the CHK1/E­cadherin/EMT signaling pathway by targeting ZEB1.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies and its pathogenesis and progression are regulated by multiple genes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous non­coding RNAs that regulate body function by altering post­transcriptional gene expression. Previous studies have suggested that miRNAs are closely associated with the pathogenesis and progression of several malignancies, including breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and glioma, among others. Therefore, miRNAs are promising novel targets for the diagnosis, treatment and determination of prognostic factors in patients with ovarian cancer. In the present study, the role of miRNA­133b­3p in ovarian cancer progression and its possible mechanism of action were investigated. The results demonstrated that the expression of miRNA­199b­3p and zinc finger E­box binding homeobox (ZEB)1 were increased in patients with ovarian cancer. The overall survival (OS) and disease­free survival (DFS) of patients with ovarian cancer and high miRNA­199b­3p expression were prolonged compared with those of patients with low miRNA­199b­3p expression. Additionally, the OS and DFS of patients with ovarian cancer and low ZEB1 expression were longer compared with those of patients with high ZEB1 expression. Furthermore, miRNA­199b­3p overexpression reduced cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in an in vitro model of ovarian cancer. miRNA­199b­3p overexpression also suppressed ZEB1 and checkpoint kinase 1 expression and induced E­cadherin expression and epithelial­to­mesenchymal transition in this model. Furthermore, the effects of miRNA­199b­3p­mediated apoptosis and migration were attenuated by ZEB1 and E­cadherin, respectively. The results of the present study indicated that miRNA­199b­3p suppressed ovarian cancer progression by targeting ZEB1, which may represent a promising therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.