miR-10b promoted melanoma progression through Wnt/β-catenin pathway by repressing ITCH expression

Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to contribute to malignant progression in melanoma. However, the roles and mechanisms of several miRNAs in melanoma remain poorly understood. In our study, we showed that miR-10b was significantly up-regulated in melanoma tissues and cell lines, and was associated with overall survival of melanoma patients. Inhibition of miR-10b dramatically suppressed melanoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, we defined ITCH as a direct and functional downstream target of miR-10b, and showed that there was an inverse correlation between the expression of ITCH and miR-10b on melanoma tissues. Down-regulation of ITCH partially attenuated the inhibitory effects of miR-10b inhibition on melanoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Furthermore，we found that miR-10b exerted its effects on melanoma by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Taken together, our results demonstrated that miR-10b was an important epigenetic modifier, promoting melanoma progression through regulating ITCH/Wnt/β-catenin pathway. These results offer a new strategy for epigenetic cancer therapy.