Bioinformatic identification of <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">miR-۱۴۵ targets highlights cytoskeleton-related pathways in cancer cell migration

Metastasis is the major cause of cancer-related deaths and is driven by cytoskeletal remodeling and cell motility. MicroRNA‑۱۴۵ (miR-۱۴۵) is a tumor suppressor known to regulate cytoskeleton-associated processes, but its downstream targets relevant to cancer cell migration remain insufficiently characterized. In this study, Putative targets of miR-۱۴۵ were predicted using integrated bioinformatic approaches. Functional enrichment and protein–protein interaction analyses were conducted to identify key genes involved in cytoskeletal regulation and cell motility by STRING. The binding affinity between miR-۱۴۵ and candidate ۳′UTRs was evaluated, and expression patterns of selected targets were examined across different cancer types using publicly available datasets via ENCORI and GEPIA. The analysis revealed ۱۶ cytoskeleton-associated genes that ۱۲ of which demonstrated strong binding to miR-۱۴۵. Gene ontology analysis demonstrated a highly interconnected module enriched in migration-related pathways, highlighting MAPK۱, PAK۱, FN۱, CRK, and ACTG۱ as key hub genes with roles in cytoskeletal regulation and cell motility. Expression profiling indicated miR-۱۴۵ downregulation and significant upregulation of these targets in multiple tumor types, supporting their inverse regulatory relationship. MiR-۱۴۵ was found to be downregulated across cancers, while its cytoskeleton-related targets were upregulated and enriched in migration pathways. These patterns, supported by prior luciferase validations, outline a core regulatory network through which miR-۱۴۵ suppresses cytoskeletal remodeling and motility. Predicted targets such as CRK may further extend this network. Overall, miR-۱۴۵ likely inhibits metastasis via coordinated repression of multiple pro-migratory genes.

کلیدواژه ها:

cancer ، Cell migration ، Cytoskeleton ، Metastasis ، MiR-۱۴۵ ، miRNA