miR-218 suppresses cardiac myxoma proliferation by targeting myocyte enhancer factor 2D

Abstract

Cardiac myxoma is the most common type of human heart tumor, yet the molecular mechanism is still poorly understood. In the present study, we found that the level of myocyte enhancer factor 2D (MEF2D), a key regulatory protein for cardiac development, was elevated in specimens of cardiac myxoma, and was positively associated with the proliferation of myxoma cells. MEF2D suppression reduced the proliferation of myxoma cells and its tumorigenicity. Cell cycle progression was also inhibited by MEF2D suppression. miR-218, which is downregulated in myxoma, suppressed MEF2D expression by targeting its mRNA 3'UTR. Altogether, we found that miR-218/MEF2D may be an effective target for myxoma treatment.