miR-125b enhances metastasis and progression of cancer via the TXNIP and HIF1α pathway in pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play potential role in the development of various types of cancer conditions including pancreatic cancer (PC) targeting several cellular processes. Present study was aimed to evaluate function of miR-125b and the mechanism involved in PC. METHODS Cell migration, MTT and BrdU study was done to establish the migration capability, cell viability and cell proliferation respectively. Binding sites for miR-125b were recognized by luciferase assay, expression of protein by western blot and immunofluorescence assay. In vivo study was done by BALB/c nude xenograft mice for evaluating the function of miR-125b. RESULTS The study showed that expression of miR-125b was elevated in PC cells and tissues, and was correlated to proliferation and migration of cells. Also, over-expression of miR-125b encouraged migration, metastasis and proliferation of BxPC-3 cells, the suppression reversed it. We also noticed that thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) was the potential target of miR-125b. The outcomes also suggested that miR-125b governed the expression of TXNIP inversely via directly attaching to the 3'-UTR activating hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α). Looking into the relation between HIF1α and TXNIP, we discovered that TXNIP caused the degradation and export of HIF1α by making a complex with it. CONCLUSION The miR-125b-TXNIP-HIF1α pathway may serve useful strategy for diagnosing and treating PC.