miR-573 regulates melanoma progression by targeting the melanoma cell adhesion molecule

Melanoma is a malignant tumor of the melanocytes. microRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as important regulators of cancer-related processes. A thorough understanding of miRNAs in melanoma progression is important for developing new therapeutic targets. miRNA expression was detected by quantitative PCR. In vitro, MTT assay, colony formation assay, invasion assay and flow cytometry analysis were performed to test the effect of miR-573 on melanoma cells. The effect of miR-573 in vivo was validated using a murine xenograft model. Using quantitative PCR, we found that the expression levels of miR-573 were lower in melanoma tissues and cell lines compared to normal skin tissues. miR-573 upregulation inhibited melanoma cell proliferation and invasion, and overexpression of melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM) could alleviate the effect of miR-573 on melanoma cells. In vivo, miR-573 overexpression groups showed lower rates of tumor growth compared with the control group. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the elevated MCAM expression due to miR-573 reduction is essential in melanoma initiation and progression.