microRNA-134 inhibits melanoma growth and metastasis by negatively regulating collagen triple helix repeat containing-1 (CTHRC1).

Melanoma, a malignant tumor of melanocytes, is considered to be the most aggressive of skin cancers and its incidence keeps increasing worldwide. miR-134 and CTHRC1 have been demonstrated to be involved in the occurrence and development of various tumors. However, their roles are still elusive in the progression of melanoma. qRT-PCR and western blot (WB) were used to examine the expressions of miR-134 and CTHRC1 in clinical specimens of melanoma patients and melanoma cell lines. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was applied to verify the target interaction between miR-134 and CTHRC1. The mRNA and protein expressions of CTHRC1 were measured by qRT-PCR and WB after treatment by miR-134 inhibitor and mimic. Subsequently, CCK8, colony formation assay, and flow cytometry were utilized to assess the influences of miR-134 and CTHRC1 on cell growth of melanoma. Cell migration and invasion experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of miR-134 and CTHRC1 on metastasis of melanoma. It was shown that CTHRC1 was up-regulated and miR-134 was down-regulated in melanoma patients and cell lines. CTHRC1 was demonstrated to be a direct target of miR-134. Ultimately, we also found that up-regulated miR-134 expression and down-regulated CTHRC1 expression could suppress cell proliferation and cell colony formation, promote apoptosis, delay the cell cycle, and hinder cell migration and invasion. Our findings suggest that miR-134 could inhibit the growth and metastasis of melanoma by negatively regulating CTHRC1.