Cholesterol promotes the migration and invasion of renal carcinoma cells by regulating the KLF5/miR-27a/FBXW7 pathway

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common and lethal subtype of renal cell carcinoma. Accumulation of cholesterol and cholesterol ester is a remarkable feature of ccRCC. However, the effect of cholesterol on ccRCC remains unknown. Out results showed that cholesterol treatment significantly promoted cells migration and invasion in ccRCC. Mechanism analysis indicated that cholesterol induced KLF5 expression. KLF5 positively regulated the transcription of miR-27a, increasing miR-27a expression. MiR-27a directly targeted FBXW7 by binding to its 3′UTR, reducing FBXW7 expression. FBXW7 silencing further increased the expression of KLF5 and miR-27a, and promoted cells migration and invasion. These results suggested that cholesterol accelerated ccRCC cells migration and invasion by regulating KLF5/miR-27a/FBXW7 axis. •Cholesterol treatment promoted the expression of KLF5 and miR-27a.•KLF5 positively regulated the transcription of miR-27a.•FBXW7 was identified as a direct target of miR-27a.•Inhibition of FBXW7 accelerated 786-O cells migration and invasion.