miR-129-5p suppresses breast cancer proliferation by targeting CBX4

Ran Meng, Jing Fang, Yue Yu, Li-Kun Hou, Jiang-Rui Chi, Ao-Xiang Chen,  Ying Zhao,  Xu-Chen Cao

Abstract:

Dysregulation of microRNA (miRNA) is closely related to cancer development and progression. Our previous study has been identified that miR-129-5p suppresses the proliferation and metastasis in breast cancer cells. In this study, we aimed to explore the target gene of miR-129-5p. We found that CBX4, a member of CBXs, is a target of miR-129-5p. CBX4 is up-regulated in breast cancer tissues and overexpression of CBX4 promotes cell proliferation, whereas knockdown of CBX4 suppresses cell proliferation in breast cancer cells. Furthermore, CBX4 mediates miR-129-5p-induced inhibition of cell proliferation and is negatively related to the expression of miR-129-5p. Taken together, our data suggested that CBX4 is an oncogene in breast cancer cells, which may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for treatment of breast cancer.