MiR-338-5p Promotes Glioma Cell Invasion by Regulating TSHZ3 and MMP2

This study was designed to examine differential expression of miR-338-5p in gliomas and the role of miR-338-5p in glioma cell invasion via its potential target gene TSHZ3 encoding Teashirt zinc finger homobox 3, predicted by bioinformatics, and matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP2), the key pro-invasive protease overexpressed in gliomas. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and Spearman correlation analysis were used to determine differential expressions of miR-338-5p and TSHZ3 in astrocytic gliomas of different grades (n = 35) and glioblastoma cell lines (U87 and U251) in comparison to non-neoplastic brain (NNB) tissues (n = 6). Western blotting was used to determine the protein levels of TSHZ3 and MMP2 in glioblastoma cell lines and Matrigel invasion assay to examine the role of miR-338-5p in cell invasiveness. The results showed that the expression of miR-338-5p, normalized to hsnRNA U6, was significantly higher in grade III and IV gliomas and glioblastoma cell lines compared to that in NNB and grade II gliomas, whereas TSHZ3 expression, normalized to GAPDH, was inversely related to miR-338-5p (R = -0.636, P < 0.01). Luciferase assays showed TSHZ3 to be a target gene of miR-338-5p. In both U87 and U251 cells, miR-338-5p mimics increased MMP2 and invasiveness of the cells. Overexpression of ectopic TSHZ3 suppressed the cell invasiveness and attenuated the pro-invasive effect of miR-338-5p mimics. Overall, our results showed that miR-338-5p has a function in promoting glioma cell invasion by targeting TSHZ3 suppression on MMP2. In conclusion, miR-338-5p is a possible potential biomarker for the diagnosis and target for therapy of high-grade glioma.