miR-204 suppresses uveal melanoma cell migration and invasion through negative regulation of RAB22A.

Uveal melanoma (UM), a frequently seen adulthood primary ocular malignancy, shows high aggressiveness. Accumulating studies have revealed the crucial effects of microRNAs (miRNAs) on tumorigenesis and development in various human tumors. miR-204, the cancer-associated miRNA, shows dysregulation and is related to several human malignancies, but its effect on UM remains unknown. The present work focused on exploring miR-204's effect on UM and elucidating its possible molecular mechanisms. According to our results, miR-204 expression markedly increased within both UM tissues and cell lines. As revealed by functional analysis, miR-204 suppressed UM cell invasion and migration. Besides, RAB22A expression decreased through directly binding miR-204 into the corresponding 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) in UM cells. Furthermore, the RAB22A mRNA level increased, which was negatively related to the miR-204 level within UM samples. As revealed by mechanical research, miR-204 exerted its inhibition on the invasion and migration of UM cells via RAB22A. Taken together, this study suggested the tumor-suppressing effect of miR-204 on UM through down-regulating RAB22A. Thus, miR-204 may serve as the new anti-UM therapeutic target.
(© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)