OBJECTIVE: Wilms’ tumor is the most common malignant tumor in children worldwide. Considering the poor therapeutic effect on Wilms’ tumor, we determined the effects of microR-NA-613 on cell proliferation and metastasis in vitro, providing therapeutic targets for the treatment of Wilms’ tumor.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was employed to identify the expression level of miR-613. CCK8 and colony formation assays were incorporated to assess cell viability and proliferation capacity. Cell migration and invasion assays were performed to investigate the metastasis capacity of Wilms’ tumor cells. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell cycle distribution and cell apoptosis. Protein levels were assessed by western blotting assay. The target gene was predicted and verified by bioinformatics analysis and luciferase assay. RESULTS: The expression of miR-613 was downregulated in Wilms’ tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues (n= 32). Overexpression of miR-613 could attenuate Wilms’ tumor cell viability, proliferation, invasion, and migration capacity, as well as induce cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. FRS2 was chosen as the target of miR-613 by bioinformatics analysis and a luciferase reporter assay. MiR-613 expression was inversely correlated with FRS2 in Wilms’ tumor tissues. Moreover, restoration of FRS2 rescued the tumor suppressive role of miR-613 in Wilms’ tumor cell growth and metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS: MiR-613 had a tumor-suppressive effect on Wilms’ tumor progression and metastasis via targeting FRS2 in vitro, which provided an innovative and candidate target for the diagnosis and treatment of Wilms’ tumor.