The purpose of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism by which miR-21 and its target genes mediate radiation resistance of glioblastoma cells.Real-time PCR was employed to detect miR-21 expression in normal brain tissues,glioblastoma tissues and glioblastoma cell lines (A172,T98G and U87MG).T98G cells were transfected with anti-miR-21 oligonucleotides,or plasmids containing PDCD4 or hMSH2 (PDCD4-pcDNA3 and hMSH2-pcDNA3).The survival curve was obtained to investigate the sensitivity of T98G cells to radiation.Cell apoptosis was measured by using the Caspase-3/7 kit and cell cycle by flow cytometry.Western blotting was performed to detect the expression of hMSH2 and PDCD4 in miR-21-inhibiting T98G cells.The results showed that miR-21 expression in glioblastoma cells and tissues was conversely associated with the radiation sensitivity.Over-expression of miR-21 resulted in radiation resistance,while knockdown of miR-21 led to higher sensitivity of glioblastma cells to radiation.After miR-21 knockdown,the apoptosis of T98G cells was significantly increased and the G2 phase arrest was more significant.In addition,miR-21 knockdown increased the expression of endogenous PDCD4 and hMSH2,which contributed to the apoptosis and G2 arrest of T98G cells.The findings suggested that miR-21 may mediate the resistance of glioblastoma cells against radiation via its target genes PDCD4 and hMSH2.MiR-21 and its target genes may be used as potential molecular targets for clinical radiotherapy sensitization in the future. The purpose of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism by which miR-21 and its target genes mediate radiation resistance of glioblastoma cells. Real-time PCR was employed to detect miR-21 expression in normal brain tissues, glioblastoma tissues and glioblastoma cell lines (A172, T98G and U87MG) .T98G cells were transfected with anti-miR-21 oligonucleotides, or plasmids containing PDCD4 or hMSH2 (PDCD4-pcDNA3 and hMSH2-pcDNA3) .The survival curve was obtained to investigate the sensitivity of T98G cells to radiation . Cell apoptosis was measured by using the Caspase-3/7 kit and cell cycle by flow cytometry. Western blotting was performed to detect the expression of hMSH2 and PDCD4 in miR-21-inhibiting T98G cells. The results showed that miR-21 expression in glioblastoma cells and tissues was conversely associated with the radiation sensitivity. Over-expression of miR-21 resulted in radiation resistance, while knockdown of miR-21 led to higher sensitivity of glioblastma cells to radiat After the miR-21 knockdown, the apoptosis of T98G cells was significantly increased and the G2 phase arrest was more significant. In addition, miR-21 knockdown increased the expression of endogenous PDCD4 and hMSH2, which contributed to the apoptosis and G2 arrest of T98G cells. These findings suggest that miR-21 may mediate the resistance of glioblastoma cells against radiation via its target genes PDCD4 and hMSH2.MiR-21 and its target genes may be used as potential molecular targets for clinical radiotherapy sensitization in the future.