title: MiR-493 suppresses the proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells by targeting RhoC.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  MiRNAs have been proposed to be key regulators of tumorigenesis, progression and metastasis. However, their effect and prognostic value in gastric cancer is still poorly known.
  
  
  METHODS
  Gastric cancer cell lines were cultured. Tissue samples obtained from 36 gastric cancer patients were used for quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. The tissue microarrays (TMAs) consisted of 126 cases of gastric carcinoma that were used for In situ hybridisation (ISH). Lentivirus plasmids were co-transfected into 293FT cells. Cell migration was examined using wound-healing assays. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS16.0 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study, we found that the expression levels of miR-493 were strongly down-regulated in gastric cancer and were associated with clinical stage and the presence of lymph node metastases. Moreover, miR-493 might independently predict OS and RFS in gastric cancer. We further found that up-regulation of miR-493 inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer cells, in vitro and in vivo. In addition, miR-493 directly targeted RhoC, which resulted in a marked reduction of the expression of mRNA and protein. This effect, in turn, led to a decreased ability of growth, invasion and metastasis in gastric cancer cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, our findings demonstrate that miR-493 is important for gastric cancer initiation and progression and holds promise as a prognostic biomarker to predict survival and relapse in gastric cancer. It is also a potential therapeutic tool to improve clinical outcomes in this disease.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Institute, University of South China, Key Laboratory of Cancer Cellular and Molecular Pathology of Hunan Provincial University, Hengyang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wenhua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Function Laboratory Center, Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Gastric Cancer Research of Human Province, The First Affiliated Hospital, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Institute, University of South China, Key Laboratory of Cancer Cellular and Molecular Pathology of Hunan Provincial University, Hengyang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Gastric Cancer Research of Human Province, The First Affiliated Hospital, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Institute, University of South China, Key Laboratory of Cancer Cellular and Molecular Pathology of Hunan Provincial University, Hengyang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiusheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
keywords: Gastric cancer; Invasion; Prognostic significance; Proliferation; miR-493