miR-1193 Inhibits Glioma Cells Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion via Targeting IGF2BP2

Glioma, categorized into high or low grade type, is a type of tumor that originated from the glial cells of brain and spine. High grade glioma which accounts for 80 percent of all gliomas is a life-threatening condition with bad prognosis. miRNAs, small non-coding RNAs which function in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, are closely associated with glioma owing to their therapeutic and diagnostic effects. Previous studies showed miR-1193 played a pivotal role in many cancer cells proliferation and invasion. However, whether miR-1193 has any role in glioma is largely unclear. In this study, we found that the expression of miR-1193 was significantly decreased in the high grade glioma tissue. Further, in vitro studies demonstrated that higher expression of miR-1193 in U251 cells inhibited glioma cells proliferation, migration, and invasion. Knock down of miR-1193 in glioma cells showed inhibitory effects on U251 cells proliferation, migration, and invasion. In addition, IGF2BP2 was demonstrated to be the target of miR-1193 and responsible for U251 cells malignancy. Western blot results revealed that Ras/Raf/ERK signal cascade mediated the malignant effects induced by down-regulation of miR-1193 in glioma. Overall, these results showed that epigenetic regulation of IGF2BP2 via miR-1193 was essential for development of glioma and thereby provided a new insight into glioma diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and further translational investigations.