miR-218 expression in osteosarcoma tissues and its effect on cell growth in osteosarcoma cells

Objective:To investigate the expression of miR—218 and its clinical significance in osteosarcoma tissues and explore its effect on proliferation and apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells.Methods:miR-218 expression was detected in 76 samples of surgically resected osteosarcoma and matched normal tumor-adjacent tissues using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR).MiR-218 was over-expressed by exogenous miR-218 plasmids in Saos-2 cells,and then BrdU cell proliferation assay and flow cytometry were used to determine cell proliferation and apoptosis.Results:The expression of miR-218 in osteosarcoma tissues was significantly lower than those in normal tumor-adjacent tissues(t=8.735.P<0.001).MiR-218 expression in tumor tissues was significantly correlated with tumor size(x^2=5.380,P=0.020).clinical stage(x^2=6.692,P=0.010) and distant metastasis(x^2=4.l80.P=0.041).MiR-218 was obviously overexpressed by exogenous miR-218 plasmids(t= 19.42.P<0.001),and miR-218 overexpression significantly reduced cell proliferation(t=9.045.P<0.001) and induced apoptosis(t=12.38,P<0.001) in Saos-2 cells.Conclusions:The low-expression of miR-218 is correlated with the poor clinicopathological features in osteosarcoma.Moreover.miR-218 overexpression reduces cancer cell proliferation and induces apoplosis in Saos-2 cells,suggesting that miR-218 may play a key role in the progression of human osteosarcoma.