MicroRNAs (miRs) serve a role in promoting and suppressing tumors in various types of malignant cancer, such as cervical cancer. However, the regulatory mechanism of miR‑124‑3p in cervical cancer remains unclear. In the present study, miR‑124‑3p was significantly downregulated in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines compared with matching adjacent non‑tumor tissues and the normal cervical epithelial cell line End1/E6E7, respectively. Decreased expression of miR‑124‑3p was associated with advanced cervical cancer and the results of an in vitro study demonstrated that the ectopic expression of miR‑124‑3p significantly decreased the proliferation, migration and invasion of cervical cancer Caski cells. Furthermore, insulin‑like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1) was identified as a novel target of miR‑124‑3p. Overexpression of miR‑124‑3p decreased the expression of IGF2BP1, whereas miR‑124‑3p knockdown promoted IGF2BP1 expression at the post‑transcriptional level in Caski cells. Additionally, overexpression of IGF2BP1 attenuated the suppressive effects of miR‑124‑3p on the proliferation, migration and invasion of Caski cells. IGF2BP1 was upregulated in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines compared with matching adjacent non‑tumor tissues and the End1/E6E7 cell line, respectively. Therefore, the present study suggests that miR‑124‑3p suppresses the growth and metastasis of cervical cancer by directly targeting IGF2BP. Thus, miR‑124‑3p may be developed as a novel method of treating cervical cancer.

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