MicroRNA-940 inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition of glioma cells via targeting ZEB2

MicroRNAs have been found ectopically expressed in many cancers and play essential roles in tumor EMT progress. Recent studies identified decreased miR-940 expression in glioma cells and may serve as a tumor-suppressor. However, whether miR-940 involve in glioma EMT remain poorly understood. Here we confirmed that miR-940 was significantly reduced in glioma cells and tissues. Introduction of miR-940 dramatically suppressed invasion and migration of glioma cells. Gain-of-function experiments showed ZEB2 as a direct target of miR-940, knockdown of ZEB2 evidently repressed invasive capacity of glioma cells through EMT. Moreover, reintroduction of ZEB2 effectively reversed the tumor suppressive effect of miR-940 treatment. In vivo study showed reduced tumor cell motion in miR-940-injected groups. Spearman's correlation analysis indicated inversely correlated expression of ZEB2 and miR-940 in gliomas and NBTs. Altogether, miR-940-ZEB2 cascade may play important roles in glioma cells invasion and EMT progression, and might provide new therapeutic approaches for better outcomes of GBM patients.