miR-429 inhibits osteosarcoma progression by targeting HOXA9 through suppressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most commonly diagnosed malignant cancer of bone that occurs in adolescents and children. Mounting number of studies have indicated that miRNAs are increasingly playing fundamental roles in OS development. Thus, the biological function of miR-429 in OS progression was explored. The results of RT-qPCR revealed that miR-429 was downregulated in OS tissues and OS cell lines (MG-63, U2OS, Saos-2) while homeobox A9 (HOXA9) was markedly increased. Moreover, HOXA9 was confirmed as a direct target of miR-429 by using luciferase reporter assay. It was identified that miR-429 exhibited a suppressive effect on OS progression while HOXA9 showed the oncogenic function in OS progression by using MTT and Transwell assays. More importantly, rescue assays manifested that HOXA9 can partially overturn the suppressive effect of miR-429 on OS. Overexpression of miR-429 inhibited the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In conclusion, miR-429 suppressed OS progression by targeting HOXA9 through Wnt/β-catenin pathway.