miR-20a Promotes Prostate Cancer Invasion and Migration Through Targeting ABL2

ABSTRACT The aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been found in various types of cancer. The present study found miR‐20a was significantly up‐regulated in prostate cancer compared with normal prostate tissues. Patients with a higher miR‐20a expression had a Gleason score of 7–10 and shorter survival time. The transwell and wound healing assays revealed that blocking expression of miR‐20a by miR‐20a ASO suppresses the invasion and migration of PC‐3 and DU145 cells in vitro and also inhibits tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, we identified miR‐20a directly targets the ABL family non‐receptor tyrosine kinases ABL2 and negatively regulates the phosphorylation of its downstream gene p190RhoGAP. Knockdown of ABL2 promoted cell invasion and migration and we identified miR‐20a‐induced cell invasion and migration can be rescued by ABL2. In conclusion, our findings show that miR‐20a significantly contributes to the progression of prostate cancer by targeting ABL2. J. Cell. Biochem. 115: 1269–1276, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.