miR-335 promotes cell proliferation by directly targeting Rb1 in meningiomas

Meningiomas, one of the most common benign brain tumors in humans, arise from arachnoid cells in the brain meninges. Our investigations have revealed that miR-335 is a typical microRNA overexpressed in meningiomas in humans. Characterization of the effects of miR-335 overexpression in meningiomas demonstrated that elevated levels of miR-335 increased cell growth and inhibited cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase in vitro; in addition, reduction of the miR-335 levels had the opposite effect on tumor growth and progression. Further, previous studies have shown that the mechanism of effect of miR-335 on the proliferation of meningioma cells is associated with alterations in the expression of human retinoblastoma 1 (Rb1). Our results indicate that miR-335 plays an essential role in the proliferation of meningioma cells by directly targeting the Rb1 signaling pathway. Thus, our results highlight a novel molecular interaction between miR-335 and Rb1, and miR-335 may represent a potential novel therapeutic agent to target the proliferation of meningioma cells.