miR-34c-3p targets FOXO3 to promote pancreatic carcinoma progression

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been a popular subject of tumor research including pancreatic carcinoma (PC). MicroRNA-34c-3p (miR-34c-3p) is a member of miR-34c cluster, which is strongly associated with tumorigenesis. Nonetheless, miR-34c-3p has not been explored in PC. MiR-34c-3p was taken as a target to explore its current clinical significance and related molecular mechanisms in PC. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was employed to monitor miR-34c-3p and FOXO3 level in tissues and PC cells. Dual-Luciferase reporter assay was utilized to verifying the relationship between miR-34c-3p and FOXO3. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and Transwell assay were applied to detect cell proliferation, migration and invasion. MiR-34c-3p was markedly elevated in PC tissues and closely related with lymph node metastasis, post-treatment nodal margin category and degree of differentiation. MiR-34c-3p upregulation could predict poorer prognosis and higher risk of PC patients. In PC cells, overexpression of miR-34c-3p enhanced cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Moreover, miR-34c-3p negatively regulated FOXO3 to promote cellular processes. High level of miR-34c-3p is a poor prognostic factor for PC patients and miR-34c-3p promotes tumor progression by negatively regulating FOXO3.