Aberrant microRNA (miRNA/miR) expression plays an important role in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In the present study, the role and underlying molecular mechanism of miR‑301a‑3p in NPC cells were determined. It was observed that miR‑301a‑3p upregulation promoted NPC cell proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial‑mesenchymal transition in vitro, whereas its downregulation resulted in the opposite effect. B‑cell translocation gene 1 (BTG1) mRNA was identified as the novel target of miR‑301a‑3p. BTG1 overexpression partially attenuated miR‑301a‑3p‑induced increase in cell proliferation and invasion. miR‑301a‑3p can be transferred by exosomes and positively regulate the proliferation and invasion of NPC cells. Altogether, the present study highlights that exosomal miR‑301a‑3p can promote NPC cell proliferation and invasion by repressing BTG1, thereby resulting in the development of NPC.
Keywords: nasopharyngeal carcinoma; microRNA-301a-3p; B-cell translocation gene 1; proliferation; invasion.