miR-494 inhibited EOC cells proliferation, migration and invasion. (A) OVCAR3 cells that were transfected with miR-494 mimics or NC were subjected to RT-qPCR to detect miR-494 expression. (B) MTT assays demonstrated that upregulation of miR-494 resulted in a significant reduction in cellular proliferation in OVCAR3 cells. (C) Cell migration and invasion were suppressed by the overexpression of miR-494 in OVCAR3 cells as compared with that in NC-transfected cells. (D) SKOV3 cells that were transfected with miR-494 inhibitor or NC inhibitor were subjected to RT-qPCR for evaluation of miR-494 expression. (E) Downregulation of miR-494 enhanced the proliferation of SKOV3 cells. (F) Knockdown of miR-494 improved the in vitro cell migration and invasion abilities of SKOV3 cells. *P<0.05 compared with their respective controls. Data represent the mean ± or + standard deviation. EOC, epithelial ovarian cancer; RT-qPCR, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction; NC, negative control; miR, microRNA.