miR-381-3p restrains cervical cancer progression by downregulating FGF7

This study aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanism of miR-381-3p in cervical cancer progression, which may provide a novel therapeutic target for patients with cervical cancer. The expression of miR-381-3p was confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Microarray analysis was conducted to screen out differentially expressed genes, and the target gene of microRNA (miRNA) was predicted on TargetScan. Dual-luciferase reporter assay then verified the targeting relationship between miR-381-3p and FGF7. The protein expression of FGF7 was examined via Western blot assay. Colony formation assay was used to detect the cell proliferation, while flow cytometry was used to analyze cell cycle and apoptosis. The influence of miR-381-3p and FGF7 on cell migration and invasion was confirmed by transwell migration/invasion assay. Finally, we demonstrated that miR-381-3p was lowly expressed, while FGF7 was highly expressed in cervical cancer cells. There was a direct target relationship and a negative correlation between miR-381-3p and FGF7. miR-381-3p could downregulate FGF7 expression, inhibiting cell proliferation and metastasis, and inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in cervical cancer.