Silencing of miR-21 regulates proliferation and invasion in trophoblastic cells and targets PTEN

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non coding RNAs that post-transcriptional regulate gene expression by inducing translational inhibition or transcript degradation. MiR-21 is an oncomir and has been associated with various types of cancer. Interestingly, our group has been reported that miR-21 is the highest expressed miRNA, out of 762 analyzed, in first trimester isolated trophoblast cells. In this study, we investigated the functions of miR-21 in trophoblastic cell lines and its possible target genes. Methods: The immortalized human trophoblast cell line HTR-8/svneo and the choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-…