title: microRNA-99b acts as a tumor suppressor in non-small cell lung cancer by directly targeting fibroblast growth factor receptor 3.
abstract: microRNAs (miRNAs) play a significant role in cancer development and progression by regulating the expression of proto-oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Our previous study using microarrays demonstrated that miR-99b was downregulated in patients with lung cancer. To assess whether or not miR-99b has a functional role in lung cancer, we determined the expression of miR-99b and fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3), which is a predicted target of miR-99b in public algorithms in human lung cancer tissues. miR-99b was downregulated and FGFR3 was upregulated in lung cancer patients. We demonstrated that the overexpression of miR-99b induced a reduction in FGFR3 expression and confirmed the target specificity between miR-99b and the FGFR3 3'-untranslated region by luciferase reporter assay. In addition, the growth rate in miR-99b precursor-treated cells was lower compared to the negative controls. Taken together, these results suggest that miR-99b may be a tumor suppressor through the downregulation of FGFR3. miR-99b may be a potent tumor suppressor and may be a potential therapeutic tool for patients with lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine;
authors.forename: Jaeku
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Soo Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sun Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sun Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Moon Jun
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Na
authors.forename: Eun Jin
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyo Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Ji Woong
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Son