Enhanced motility and proliferation by miR-10b/FUT8/p-AKT axis in breast cancer cells

Upregulation of microRNA (miR)-10b has been confirmed in multiple types of cancer, however, the role of miR-10b in glycosylation remains unclear. Protein core-fucosylation is an important N-linked glycosylation modification and serves important roles in cancer progression. In a previous study, a glycogene array was applied to profile the alterations of glycogene expression in miR-10b-overexpressed MCF10A cells. Notably, fucosyltranferase 8 (FUT8), which is responsible for the addition of core-fucose to N-glycan, was significantly upregulated by miR-10b. In the present study, increased motility and proliferation were observed in miR-10b-overexpressed MCF10A cells. To assess the mechanism involved, the role of FUT8 in MCF10A cells was studied and it was confirmed that miR-10b promotes motility and proliferation by regulating FUT8 and activating the protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway. Consistent with the aforementioned result, decreased motility and proliferation were detected when miR-10b expression was inhibited in MDA-MB-231 cells, transforming growth factor-β-induced and Twist-overexpressed MCF10A cells. To conclude, the findings from the present study indicate that miR-10b promotes motility and proliferation by increasing FUT8 and activating AKT in breast cancer cells.