The findings revealed that miR-888 directly bound to the 3'-untranslated region of mothers against decapentaplegic-4 and thus inhibited its expression and promoted the tumor growth factor-1-induced cancer metastasis signaling.
This study aims to investigate a correlation between miRNAs and the side population (SP) of human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 with CSC properties. miR-888 was found in our previous study to be up-regulated in SP cells and predicted to target E-Cadherin directly, indicating a potential role in maintaining SP properties and regulating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer metastasis.