MiR-30c-5p suppresses migration, invasion and epithelial to mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer via targeting MTA1.

Background: In China, gastric cancer (GC) is an ordinary malignant tumor. Recent literatures have shown that microRNA is critical during tumorigenesis. This study focuses on the influence of miR-30c-5p on the metastasis of GC and further explores its underlying mechanism.

Methods: Before the study, expression level of miR-30c-5p and targeted protein was detected in 40 GC tissue samples and 5 GC cells by RT-qPCR. Meanwhile, correlation analysis was conducted between miR-30c-5p expression level and clinicopathological features. In addition, wound healing assay and cell invasion assay were utilized to identify whether miR-30c-5p could affect the migrated and invaded ability of GC cells. Western blotting assay and luciferase assay were used to explore the potential mechanism.

Results: In GC tissues, miR-30c-5p expression level was significantly lower and was remarkably related with clinical features such as tumor node metastasis(TNM) stage and lymphatic metastasis. Moreover, the migrated and invaded ability of GC cells was enhanced through knockdown of miR-30c-5p, while overexpression of miR-30c-5p presented with reversed effect. Further study showed that miR-30c-5p inhibited the expression of its target spot, metastasis-associated protein 1(MTA1), and then suppressed the process of epithelial to mesenchymal transition(EMT) which was important in the metastasis of GC.

Conclusion: The results indicate that miR-30c-5p, a novel suppressor in tumorigenesis, could inhibit the metastasis and EMT via MTA1, which may offer a possible therapeutic target in GC.