Let-7c-5p Targeting CHD7 Hinders Cervical Cancer Migration and Invasion by Regulating Cell Adhesion

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Many studies have reported the involvement of various miRNAs in cervical cancer progression. Our study was centered at investigating how let-7c-5p affected cervical cancer migration and invasion by regulating cell adhesion and its molecular mechanism. Bioinformatics was used for the analysis on differentially expressed mRNAs in cervical cancer and the prediction of their upstream regulatory miRNAs. Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess the expression of CHD7 in cervical cancer tissue. qRT-PCR was performed for examining how much let-7c-5p and CHD7 were expressed. Dual-luciferase assay was performed to verify the regulatory relationship between CHD7 and let-7c-5p. The CCK-8 and transwell assays helped in detecting cell viability, invasion and migration. The ability by which cells adhered to each other was detected by employing cell adhesion assay. In addition, the expression levels of the proteins related to cell adhesion and CHD7 were detected by Western blot. A remarkable high expression-level of CHD7 was discovered in cervical cancer tissues and cells. The cell viability, migration and invasiveness could be suppressed by the knockdown of CHD7 which could also attenuate the expression of cell adhesion-related proteins. Bioinformatics analysis showed that CHD7 had an upstream regulatory gene, miRNA-let-7c-5p, which was markedly lowly expressed in cervical cancer tissues and cells. To validate the binding relationship between CHD7 and let-7c-5p, dual-luciferase assay was performed. Rescue experiments revealed that the cancer-inhibiting effect of let-7c-5p in cervical cancer could be reversed by overexpressed CHD7. let-7c-5p regulates cell adhesion and attenuates cervical cancer migration and invasiveness by targeting CHD7. It indicates that the involvement of let-7c-5p/CHD7 axis is of significance in cervical cancer progression, which opens up new possibilities for us to develop novel clinical treatments for cervical cancer.