MicroRNA-512-3p is upregulated, and promotes proliferation and cell cycle progression, in prostate cancer cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in males worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are small non-coding RNAs that participate in the regulation of various biological processes by regulating post-transcriptional gene expression. However, whether dysregulation of miRNA expression may be associated with the carcinogenesis of PCa remains to be elucidated. The present study identified differentially expressed miRNAs in PCa by analyzing two publicly available gene expression datasets, GSE14857 and GSE21036. The results demonstrated that miR-512-3p was significantly upregulated in PCa. Furthermore, the present study explored the molecular functions of miR-512-3p in PCa, and demonstrated that overexpression of miR-512-3p promoted PCa cell proliferation and reduced G(1) phase cell cycle arrest in PCa. These results indicated that miR-512-3p may act as an oncogene in PCa. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study revealed the molecular functions of miR-512-3p in PCa. To obtain valuable insights into the potential mechanisms of miR-512-3p, bioinformatics analyses were performed to identify the targets of miR-512-3p. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway and Gene Ontology category analyses revealed that miR-512-3p may be associated with the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway and numerous biological processes, including cell adhesion, cell proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis. These results suggested that miR-512-3p may be considered a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target of PCa.