microRNA-184 functions as tumor suppressor in renal cell carcinoma

microRNAs (miRNAs) are evolutionarily conserved, endogenous, small, noncoding RNA molecules of approximately 22 nucleotides in length that function as post-transcriptional gene regulators. Their aberrant expression may be involved in human diseases, including cancer. Although miRNA-184 (miR-184) has been reported in other tumors, its function in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is still unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of miR-184 in RCC. The impacts of miR-184 on cell migration, proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated using migration scratch, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometry assay. Our studies revealed that miR-184 mimic significantly inhibits cell migration, suppresses cell proliferation and induces renal cancer cell apoptosis in vitro when compared with the negative control (P<0.05). In this study, it was observed that miR-184 played a significant role as a tumor suppressor in RCC. Therefore, miR-184 may be a promising therapeutic target for renal cancer treatment in the future.