This work aimed to investigate the inter-regulatory functions of
hsa-mir-127 and replication initiator 1 (REPIN1) on the proliferation and
metastasis of
glioma cells. The in-silico data on the implication of
hsa-mir-127 and REPIN1 in
glioma were retrieved from The
Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The expression levels of
hsa-mir-127 and REPIN1
mRNA were determined by qRT-PCR, whereas Western blot was used to detect REPIN1
protein expression in
glioma cell lines. The proliferation of
glioma cells was determined by means of the MTT assay, whereas the transwell assay was employed for assessing the extent of cell migration and invasion. The interaction among REPIN1 and
hsa-mir-127 was checked using the
luciferase reporter assay. The expression of
hsa-mir-127 was markedly increased in clinical data obtained from TCGA and in
glioma cells compared with normal tissues and control cells, respectively. Increased expression of
hsa-mir-127 and decreased expression of REPIN1 were both associated with poor overall survival. Moreover,
hsa-mir-127 overexpression noticeably promoted proliferation, inhibited apoptosis and increased the invasive and migratory capacities of
glioma cells. Inverse effects were found with
hsa-mir-127 antisense inhibitor. Interestingly, overexpression of
hsa-mir-127 downregulated REPIN1 expression, and
luciferase reporter assay showed that the
tumorigenesis effect of
hsa-mir-127 requires, in part, its direct targeting of REPIN1. In conclusion, the hsa-mir-127/REPIN1 pathway is involved in
gliomas and could be a potential therapeutic target.