Expression of miR-143 Reduces Growth and Migration of Human Bladder Carcinoma Cells by Targeting Cyclooxygenase-2

Systemic chemotherapy is the only current modality that provides the potential for long-term survivalin bladder carcinoma patients with metastatic disease. Overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 COX-2 inducesexpression of immune- and cell proliferation-related genes and is associated with the grade, prognosis andrecurrence of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. There is abundant evidence that aberrant expressionof microRNAs (miRNAs) is implicated in numerous disease states and miRNAs have the potential to be used forcancer therapeutics. Here, we found expression of miR-143 to be low in a series of human bladder carcinomas ascompared to background tissue. In addition, restoration of miR-143 by cell transfection in T24 cancer cells led todecreased COX-2 expression, reduced proliferation and mobility. Our findings will help to further understand thefunctions of miRNAs in cancer cells and point to a specific potential of miR-143 may be employed as a therapeuticagent for bladder carcinoma. The results provide insights into the development of novel tumor markers or newtherapeutic strategies.