Serum miR-30d as a novel biomarker for multiple myeloma and its antitumor role in U266 cells through the targeting of the MTDH/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological tumor and is characterized by the infiltration of malignant clonal plasma cells (PCs) in bone marrow. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) have been reported to play an important role in the genesis and progression of MM. However, little is known about the clinical diagnostic value and biological functions of miR-30d in MM. In this study, to investigate the role of miR-30d in MM, we used reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction quantitative (RT-qPCR) to detect the relative expression level of miR-30d in the serum of 81 patients with primary MM and 78 healthy donors (HDs). The biological functions of miR-30d were then assessed by CCK-8 assay, flow cytometric analysis of apoptosis and western blot (WB) analysis in U266 cells. Moreover, the confirmation of the target gene of miR-30d was conducted by luciferase reporter assay. Our results indicated that miR-30d expression was significantly downregulated in the serum of patients with primary MM compared with that of the HDs and that it was significantly associated with several clinical indicators of MM. Further cell functional analyses using the U266 cells revealed that miR-30d functions as a tumor suppressor gene in MM by inhibiting cell viability and promoting cell apoptosis. Moreover, miR-30d was confirmed to directly bind to the 3'UTR of its target gene, metadherin (MTDH) and inhibit the activation of the downstream PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. On the whole, the findings of this study indicate that the serum expression level of miR-30d is of great significance to the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of patients with MM. Moreover, miR-30d carries out its antitumor role in U266 cells through the inhibition of the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway by negatively regulating MTDH, which reveals its potential for use as a therapeutic target for MM.