miR-19a promotes invasion and epithelial to mesenchymal transition of bladder cancer cells by targeting RhoB

Purpose: Bladder cancer is one of the most frequent carcinomas worldwide, the incidence of which ranks fourth in males. MiR-19a is identified as one of the key miRs associated with tumorigenesis and has been documented to act as an oncogene in various types of tumors. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of miR-19a and RhoB in bladder cancer. Methods: The expression of miR-19a was analyzed from 54 paired of bladder cancer and paracancer tissues by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Transwell assay was employed to confirm the invasion capacity in bladder cancer. Dual luciferase reporter assay was utilized to analyze the association between the expression of miR-19a and RhoB. Western blot analyses were performed to detect the relative protein expression. Results: miR-19a was clearly overexpressed in bladder cancer tissues and cells, while the expression of RhoB was lower in bladder cancer tissues and cells as compared with corresponding paracancer tissues and normal bladder cells. Also, miR-19a could promote the invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of bladder cancer cells through inhibiting the expression of RhoB. Moreover RhoB was identified as a direct target of miR-19a and the inverse relationship between them was also observed. Conclusions: This data demonstrated that miR-19a promoted the invasion and EMT through targeting RhoB. It is suggested that miR-19a/RhoB axis may show a new way for the treatment of bladder cancer.