Abstract:Objective To investigate the relationship between miR-145-3p and Hirschsprung disease (HD), and to explore the possible molecular mechanism. Methods In this study, a total of 80 human colon tissues including 40 HD stenotic colon segments and 40 matched normal colon segments who undertook operative treatment were collected from Zhujiang Hospital of Southern medical University, and qRT-PCR was used to detect the relative expression of miR-145-3p in colon tissues. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and Transwell assay were employed to investigate the biological function of miR-145-3p in human SH-SY5Y cell lines. Bioinformatic analysis, dualluciferase reporter assay, Western blot and immunohistochemistry were performed to evaluate the target for miR- 145-3p. Results We found that ganglion cell numbers were reduced while miR-145-3p was upregulated in HD tissues compared to that in normal colon tissues (P < 0.05). MiR-145-3p overexpression inhibited cell proliferation (P < 0.05) and migration (P < 0.05). Bioinformatic software data revealed that miR-145-3p could directly target the 3′-UTR of GNDF. Dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that the 3′-UTR of GDNF was a direct target to miR-145-3p (P < 0.05). Moreover, an increased level of miR-145-3p was inversely correlated with decreased levels of GDNF protein in cells (P < 0.05) and tissues. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that aberrant expression of miR-145-3p might play a crucial role in the development of HD partly by regulating GDNF expression.