Figure 7.

Schematic diagram showing the radiosensitizer activity of miR-130a by targeting SOX4. Radiosensitive rectal cancer cells have a high expression of miR-130a to target SOX4 and suppress transcription of the EMT-related genes and NBS1. In contrast, radioresistant rectal cancer cells shows the low expression of miR-130a leading to high level of SOX4. As a result, SOX4 promotes radioresistance by inducing the EMT process and activating the DNA repair process. In conclusion, miR-130a functions as a radiosensitizer in rectal cancer cells and can be used as a preoperative prognostic biomarker for radiotherapy.