microRNA-155 silencing inhibits proliferation and migration and induces apoptosis by upregulating BACH1 in renal cancer cells

The purpose of this study was to explore the functional role and mechanism of miR-155 in the development of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). miR-155 expression was quantified in renal cancers, matched adjacent non-tumor tissues and renal cell lines using quantitative real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Cell proliferation, apoptosis and migratory activity were measured following suppression of miR-155 expression by antisense oligonucleotides. miR-155 targets were scanned using target prediction programs. Following the inhibition of miR-155, target gene expression was detected by western blotting. The expression of miR-155 was upregulated in clear cell RCC (ccRCC) tissue and renal cancer cell lines. The suppression of miR-155 inhibited cell proliferation and migratory activity and induced apoptosis in renal cancer cells. The suppressor gene suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS-1) and BACH1 were predicted as potential target genes by bioinformatics analysis. The suppression of miR-155 inhibited BACH1 protein expression. miR-155 may function as an oncogene by targeting BACH1. Thus, the inhibition of miR-155 may be an effective way to treat RCC.