Abstract: AIM: To study the impact of resveratrol (RES) on the proliferation of retinoblastoma in vitro, and to explore its possible mechanism.  METHODS:CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry assay were used to measure cell viability and apoptosis. The relationship between miR-937 and forkhead box Q1 (FOXQ1) was predicted and confirmed by TargetScan and dual-luciferase reporter assay. In addition, gene and protein expression was detected using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively.  RESULTS:RES inhibited the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of Y79 cells with time- and concentration-dependent manner. miR-937 was found to be down-regulated in retinoblastoma cell lines; treatment with RES increased the expression of miR-937 in Y79 cells. FOXQ1 was identified as a direct target of miR-937, and its expression was negatively associated with that of miR-937. Additionally, FOXQ1 was up-regulated in retinoblastoma cell lines; treatment with RES decreased the expression of FOXQ1 in Y79 cells. Furthermore, compared with treatment with RES alone, the combination of transfection with miR-937 inhibitor and RES treatment significantly decreased the expression of miR-937, increased FOXQ1 expression, promoted Y79 cell proliferation and reduced the apoptosis of cells in vitro. CONCLUSION: RES reduced the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of retinoblastoma cells by decreasing FOXQ1 expression via the up-regulation of miR-937, suggesting that the miR-937/FOXQ1 signaling pathway may be a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of retinoblastoma.

Key words: resveratrol, retinoblastoma, proliferation, miR-937/FOXQ1 signaling pathway