Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of miR-181d-5p on proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of cervical cancer cells and its effect on sulfation rate-limiting enzyme (PAPSS2)/proteoglycans （VCAN） signal pathway. 
Methods In terms of cytological experiment, HeLa cells were divided into control group, NC group and miR-181d-5p group. MTT, flow cytometry and Transwell assay were used to detect the proliferation, apoptosis and invasion ability of cells in each group. The protein expression levels of PAPSS2 and VCAN were detected by Western blot. In terms of nude mice tumor bearing experiment, 20 SPF node mice were randomly divided into control group(n=10) and miR-181d-5p group(n=10). They were inoculated with wild type cells and transfected with miR-181d-5p cells respectively. The tumor volume of mice was measured every 3 d for 21 d consecutively, and the tumor mass and volume were measured at the end of experiment. 
Results Cytological experiment showed that, compared with the control group and NC group, miR-181d-5p group had a significantly lower cell proliferation ability, a significant increase in the proportion of cell apoptosis, a significant reduction in cell invasion ability, and a significant down-regulation of the expression levels of PAPSS2 and VCAN(P＜0.05). There was no significant difference between NC group and control group(P＞0.05). The nude mice tumor bearing experiment showed that the tumor growth of miR-181d-5p group was significantly inhibited, and the tumor quality was significantly lower than that of the control group(P＜0.05). 
Conclusion miR-181d-5p can inhibit the proliferation and invasion ability of human cervical cancer cells and promote apoptosis. Its mechanism may related to the inhibition of PAPSS2/VCAN signal pathway. 

Key words: uterine cervical neoplasms, miR-181d-5p, apoptosis, invasion