miR-625 down-regulation promotes proliferation and invasion in esophageal cancer by targeting Sox2.

Highlights: [•] Expression of miR-625 in EC specimens was significantly lower than in corresponding adjacent tissues. [•] Low expression of miR-625 positively correlated with the proliferation and invasion of EC cell lines in vitro. [•] Direct binding of miR-625 to the Sox2 3′ UTR was demonstrated. [•] miR-625 overexpression diminished but miR-625 knockdown increased Sox2 expression levels in EC cells. [•] miR-625 is related to proliferation and invasion of EC by regulating Sox2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]