MicroRNAs are small RNA that are tightly interrelated with the initiation, development, and metastasis of cancers. Studies have shown that miR-10b is increased in various cancers. However, the underlying mechanisms of miR-10b in the occurrence and metastasis of endometrial cancer are poorly understood. To investigate its roles and correlations with Homeobox box 3 (HOXB3) in endometrial cancer, cancer tissues and adjacent normal endometrium tissues from 20 patients with endometrial cancer were studied. miR-10b expression was significantly up-regulated (p < 0.01) in endometrial cancer tissue, whereas HOXB3 was lowly expressed. The silence of miR-10b resulted in significantly enhanced cell apoptosis, and remarkably reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion (p < 0.05). Moreover, the protein levels of HOXB3 were increased in KLE cells with silenced miR-10b, and dual-luciferase reporter assay suggested that miR-10b could directly target HOXB3. Furthermore, overexpression of HOXB3 promoted cell apoptosis but inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion (p < 0.01). To conclude, miR-10b might control cell apoptosis, proliferation, migration, and invasion in endometrial cancer via regulation of HOXB3 expression.
Keywords: HOXB3; apoptosis; endometrial cancer; invasion; miR-10b; proliferation.