Cervical cancer is among the most prevalent forms of cancer worldwide. C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) is hypothesized to be a key functional protein involved in tumorigenesis. However, the role of CCR5 in cervical cancer remains unclear. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis were used to evaluate the mRNA and protein expression levels of CCR5 in human cervical carcinoma tissues. Furthermore, a small interfering RNA was employed to knockdown CCR5 in HeLa and C33A cells. MTT, colony formation and Transwell assays were performed to determine the effects of this knockdown on cell viability, proliferation and invasion. In addition, micro RNA (miR)-107 was identified as a potential candidate regulator of CCR5 using miR prediction algorithms, and the effects of miR-107 and its antisense miR on CCR5 mRNA expression were determined. The results of the present study indicated that CCR5 is overexpressed in human cervical cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues, and its downregulation inhibits cervical cancer cell growth and proliferation. Furthermore, the downregulation of CCR5 appears to suppress cervical cancer cell invasion. Finally, the tumor suppressor miR-107 was able to directly target CCR5 and inhibit its expression. These results suggest that the upregulation of CCR5, which is inhibited by miR-107, may play a carcinogenic role in cervical cancer and could provide a novel therapeutic target in the future.
Keywords: C-C chemokine receptor type 5; human cervical cancer; invasion; microRNA-107.