Vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP), a novel target of miR-4455, promotes gastric cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, through activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs which play important roles in the carcinogenesis of gastric cancer (GC). Expression profiling of miRNAs in paired gastric cancer and adjacent normal gastric tissues has demonstrated that miR-4455 is down-regulated in gastric cancer tissues, but its functional role in the carcinogenesis of GC had not previously been investigated.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the functional and biological mechanisms of miR-4455 in the progression of GC, in vitro.

Methods: Expression of miR-4455 was compared in human GC tissue samples and paired adjacent normal tissue samples. The in vitro effects of miR-4455 expression in MGC-803 cells on their proliferation, invasion, and migration were assessed by MTT assays and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine staining, matrigel-invasion analysis and wound healing assays. Bioinformatics analysis (using PicTar, target scan and miRBase target) was used to identify potential targets for miR-4455, and the luciferase reporter assay, qRT-PCR and Western-blotting analyses were used to confirm VASP as the target of miR-4455. In addition, the effects of downregulation of VASP on the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway were measured using Western-blot analysis.

Results: The expression of miR-4455 was markedly down-regulated in gastric cancer tissues vs. adjacent normal tissues, and miR-4455 expression inhibited the proliferation, invasion and migration of MGC-803 GC cells in vitro. Luciferase reporter assays revealed that miR-4455 inhibited VASP expression by targeting the 3'-UTR sequence of VASP. Furthermore, silencing of VASP markedly inhibited the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that miR-4455 functions as a tumor suppressor in gastric cancer, by targeting VASP leading to activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and the inhibition of VASP mediated proliferation, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells.