miR-145 promotes osteosarcoma growth by reducing expression of the transcription factor friend leukemia virus integration 1

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common malignant bone tumor in children and young adults. miR-145 is a microRNA highly expressed in vascularized tissues and has been widely studied in cancers. In this study, we explored the expression and function of miR-145 in OS. We found that miR-145 was consistently under-expressed in OS tissues and cell lines as compared to normal bone tissues and osteoblast cells. Ectopic expression of miR-145 in OS cells inhibited their proliferation and migration and induced apoptosis. miR-145 targets a putative microRNA regulatory element (MRE) in the 3'-UTR of friend leukemia virus integration 1 gene (FLI-1), and its abundance was inversely related to FLI-1 expression in OS tissues and cell lines. miR-145 decreased expression FLI-1 protein and mRNA, but mutation of the miR-145 MRE sequence in the FLI-1 3'-UTR abolished the activity of miR-145 in a reporter assay. Restored expression of FLI-1 diminished miR-145-mediated suppression of tumor progression. These results suggest that miR-145 acts as a tumor suppressor by directly reducing expression of FLI-1, and that the miR-145/FLI-1 pathway is important for tumor progression in OS.