MicroRNA-21 Promotes Cell Growth and Migration by Targeting Programmed Cell Death 4 Gene in Kazakh’s Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Esophageal cancer (EC) is the eighth most common cancer worldwide and the sixth most common cause of cancer death. There are two main types of EC—squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and adenocarcinoma (EAC). Although some advances in the exploration of its possible etiological mechanism were made recently including behaviors and environmental risk factors as well as gene alterations, the molecular mechanism underlying ESCC carcinogenesis and progression remains poorly understood. It has been reported that miR-21 was upregulated in most malignant cancers, the proposed mechanism of which was through suppressing expression of programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4). In present study, it is firstly reported that miR-21 was upregulated in Kazakh’s ESCC and that miR-21 played a negative role in regulating PDCD4 using in situ hybridization (ISH) and luciferase reporter approach. Morever, in model of ESCC xenografted nude mice, miR-21 maybe used as an effective target in the treatment. The present results demonstrated that miR-21 may be a potential therapeutic target in management of ESCC.