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. 2014 Jul 31;5(17):7610–7624. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.2282

Figure 6. Schematic model of the silencing of miR-148a through aberrant hypermethylation enhances cell migration in NPC.

Figure 6

In normal cells, hypomethylated miR-148a promoter allows the binding of transcription activator USF1, resulting in the activation of miR-148a expression. Mature miR-148a represses the protein expression of the integrin pathway downstream targets such as ITGB8, VAV2, ROCK1 and WASL, and thereby inhibits cell migration. Conversely, in NPC cells, hypermehtylated miR-148a promoter prevents the binding of USF1 and causes silencing of miR-148a. In the absence of miR-148a, NPC cells overexpress oncogenic integrin pathway targets and, in turn, trigger cell migration.