Interleukin-23 Facilitates Thyroid Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion by Inhibiting SOCS4 Expression via MicroRNA-25

Interleukin–23 (IL–23) is a conventional proinflammatory cytokine that plays a role in tumor progression by inducing inflammation in the tumor microenvironment. However, the role of IL–23 in thyroid cancer migration and invasion remains unclear. In the present study, we observed that the treatment with IL–23, induced migration and invasion in human thyroid cancer cells. Additional data demonstrate that SOCS4 negatively regulates IL-23-mediated migration and invasion. On investigating the mechanisms involved in IL–23 mediated migration and invasion, we observed that miR–25 promotes the migration and invasion of thyroid cancer cells by directly binding to the 3′-UTR of SOCS4 that leads to the inhibition of SOCS4. In addition, we also demonstrated that IL–23 increases miR–25 expression levels, and overexpressed miR–25 is involved in IL-23-associated SOCS4 inhibition and cell migration and invasion. Together, our data suggest that IL–23 induces migration and invasion in thyroid cancer cells by mediating the miR–25/SOCS4 signaling pathway.