miR-200b as a prognostic factor targets multiple members of RAB family in glioma

miR-200b is a tumor suppressor in multiple tumors including gastric cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and glioma. In this study, we detected the expression of miR-200b and analyzed its correlation with clinicopathological parameters in glioma tissues. miR-200b was downregulated in glioma tissues. And its downexpression was correlated with poor prognosis in gliomas. Members of RAB family, RAB21, RAB23, RAB18 and RAB3B were predicted to be novel targets of miR-200b. The direct suppression of RAB21, RAB23, RAB18 and RAB3B expressions by miR-200b was revealed by luciferase reporter assay, quantitative RT-PCR analysis and Western blot. Furthermore, the overall survival of patients with different expression of RABs was analyzed. The expression of RAB21, RAB23, RAB18 and RAB3B was related to the prognosis and histopathology of glioma. The patients who had the upregulation of all the four RABs had the worst outcome; those who had the downregulation of all RABs had the best outcome (p < 0.001). miR-200b was a potential biomarker for glioma prognosis.