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MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate target mRNAs at the posttranscription level. Here, we show that miR-16 is upregulated in human laryngeal carcinoma tissues. Inhibition of miR-16 in HEp-2 laryngeal cancer cell line could suppress cell migration and enhance cell-cell adhesion. Subsequently, zyxin, whose expression is negatively regulated by miR-16, is confirmed to be a direct target gene of miR-16. Furthermore, overexpression of zyxin could also restrain cell movement and enhance cell-cell adhesion. The study of miR-16 and its target zyxin will shed light on diagnosis and therapy of laryngeal cancer. © 2011 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 63(2): 101-108, 2011 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs are a group of endogenously expressed, single-stranded, 18–24 nt RNAs that regulate diverse cellular pathways. Although documented evidence indicates that some microRNAs can function as oncogenes or tumor-suppressors, the role of miR-214 in regulating human cervical cancer cells remains unexplored. We determined the expression level of miR-214 and found it is downregulated in cervical cancer compared with normal tissue. Overexpression of miR-214 in HeLa cells, a human cervical cancer cell line, significantly inhibited cell proliferation according to the MTT and colony forming assays. HeLa cells that stably overexpress miR-214 downregulate the expression of MEK3 and JNK1 at both mRNA and protein levels. Further investigation revealed that miR-214 regulates the expression of MEK3 and JNK1 by targeting the 3′UTRs of these genes. Collectively, these results suggest that miR-214 negatively regulates HeLa cell proliferation by targeting the noncoding regions of MEK3 and JNK1 mRNAs. © 2009 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 61(11): 1075–1082, 2009 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]