MicroRNA-16-5p regulates cell survival, cell cycle and apoptosis by targeting AKT3 in prostate cancer cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a malignancy with the highest morbidity rate in 105 countries worldwide and was a major cause of cancer-associated death in men in 2018. Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) have important functions in the carcinogenesis of PCa, and may provide novel treatment targets. Previous studies have indicated that miR-16-5p is associated with PCa. However, the relevance and importance of miR-16-5p in PCa carcinogenesis are still not completely understood. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of miR-16-5p in PCa carcinogenesis. The results showed that miR-16-5p was markedly downregulated in PCa cells, and MTS assay, colony formation, flow cytometric analyses demonstrated that miR-16-5p inhibited PCa cell survival, regulated cell cycle distribution and induced apoptosis. Moreover, luciferase reporter assay and western blot analysis showed that miR-16-5p directly targetsAKT3(AKT serine/threonine kinase 3), which is associated with PCa carcinogenesis, and the effects of the downregulation of AKT3 were similar to the effects of upregulation of miR-16-5p in PC-3 cells. In conclusion, our data clarify that miR-16-5p has anticancer functions in PCa cells, and our findings provide experimental evidence to highlight the potential value of miR-targeting treatment strategies for PCa.