MicroRNA-542 suppressed the proliferation of human glioma cells by targeting talin-2 (TLN2)

Purpose: To investigate the effect of miR-542 in the development of human glioma. Methods: The expressions of miR-542 and TLN2 in glioma cells and normal human astrocytes were determined using qRT-PCR, while MTT and colony formation assays were used to determine cell proliferation. Western blotting was used to determine protein expression. Results: It was revealed that miR-542 was significantly downregulated in glioma cells. Overexpression of miR-542 inhibited the proliferation and clonogenicity of glioma cells via induction of apoptosis. The percentage of apoptotic U87 cells increased from 5.32 in control to 26.76 upon miR-542 overexpression. Moreover, TLN2 was identified as the functional regulatory target of miR542 in glioma. The expression of TLN2 was markedly upregulated in human glioma cells. However, overexpression of miR-542 suppressed TLN2 expression. Silencing of TLN2 mimicked the tumor-suppressive effects of miR-542 in glioma cells, but this effect was blocked by TLN2 over-expression. Conclusion: These results suggest that miR-542 exerted glioma-suppressive effect, with TLN2 as its functional regulatory target. Keywords: Glioma; Proliferation; Micro-RNA; Tumorigenesis; MiR-542; Apoptosis; Prognosis; talin-2; Oncogene