The anti-osteosarcoma property of ailanthone through regulation of miR-126/VEGF-A axis.

Despite the characters of the resistance of tumour of ailanthone (AIL) were found in various tumour cells, its effect on osteosarcoma is still unclear. Herein, we attempted to see the effects of AIL on an osteosarcoma cell line MG63. MG63 cells were treated by AIL, following which CCK-8 assay, BrdU assay, Transwell assay and Western blot were utilized to detect cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. miR-126 expression in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines was measured by qRT-PCR. Further, the target of miR-126 and the downstream signalling for AIL were studied. Treating MG63 cells with 1.5 μM AIL for 24 h significantly suppressed proliferation, migration, invasion and induced apoptosis. Meanwhile, AIL inhibited PI3K/AKT pathway and up-regulated miR-126 expression. miR-126 of osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines was low expressed, as relative to paracancerous tissues and normal osteoblast. The anti-tumour effects of AIL were attenuated by miR-126 silencing. Further, VEGF-A was a target of miR-126. This study demonstrated that AIL was effective in inhibiting MG63 cells growth, migration and invasion. The anti-tumour properties may be via up-regulating miR-126 and thereby degradation of VEGF-A.