MiR-659-3p regulates the progression of chronic myeloid leukemia by targeting SPHK1

Accumulating evidence shows that microRNAs (miRNAs) are significant regulators of multiple cellular processes including chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML). However, the mechanism of miR-659-3p in CML remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential role of miR-659-3p in CML progression. We found that miR-659-3p was down-regulated in CML. The upregulation of miR-659-3p significantly suppressed the proliferation ability, and enhanced the apoptosis capacity of K562 cells. Simultaneously, we found that sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) was up-regulated in CML. MiR-659-3p performed its function through downregulating SPHK1 by binding to its untranslated region (3'-UTR). These results suggested that miR-659-3p, acted as a tumor suppressor, decreased the proliferation ability of K562 cells, and increased the apoptosis capacity of K562 cells. Therefore, our study provided a new theoretical basis of miR-659-3p which may be a promising approach for CML treatment.