MicroRNA-23b regulates nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell proliferation and metastasis by targeting E-cadherin.

MicroRNA-23b (miR-23b) is important in tumor proliferation and metastasis. In this study, it was suggested that the levels of miR-23b were increased in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues. The present study aimed to explore the role of miR-23b upregulation in NPC. Functional studies demonstrated that inhibition of miR-23b could significantly suppress NPC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. An in vitro reporter assay suggested that E-cadherin is a direct target gene of miR-23b. Furthermore, the expression of miR-23b in NPC tissues was inversely correlated with that of E-cadherin. These findings provide evidence that miR-23b is key in promoting NPC cell proliferation, migration and invasion through targeting E-cadherin, and strongly suggests that an exogenous miR-23b inhibitor may have therapeutic value in treating NPC.