miR-488-5p and its role in melanoma

Due to their ability to regulate dozens to hundreds of target genes simultaneously and, therefore, influence several oncogenic pathways at the same time, microRNAs are a fascinating research object in melanoma. MicroRNAs have been identified as regulators of tumor proliferation, invasion and metastasis in melanoma. More precisely, it has been published that dysregulation of miR-488 contibutes to the progression of several cancer entities. However, the biological functions of miR-488, in special miR-488-5p in melanoma, remain unclear. This study showed the involvement of miR-488-5p in Wnt/β-catenin pathway and the function as a tumor suppressor. Transfection of miR-488-5p mimic led to inhibition of proliferation, migration, anchorage independent growth and led to induction of apoptosis. These data indicated that miR-488-5p acts as a tumor suppressor and is lost during melanoma development. The loss of miR-488-5p was confirmed in vivo by in situ hybridization on melanoma tissue.