title: MicroRNA-145-5p inhibits gastric cancer invasiveness through targeting N-cadherin and ZEB2 to suppress epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
abstract: MicroRNA (miR)-145-5p has been reported to function as a suppressor of cancer and plays an important role in cancer invasiveness. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important process in cancer invasion and migration. However, the involvement of miR-145-5p in EMT in human gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which miR-145-5p regulates EMT in GC invasiveness. We used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to investigate the miR-145-5p expression level in GC and matched normal tissues. The effects of miR-145-5p on GC cell invasion and migration abilities were evaluated using Transwell models. The relationships among miR-145-5p and zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2), E-cadherin, and N-cadherin were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses. miR-145-5p levels in primary GC tissues obtained from 60 patients were significantly downregulated, compared to those in paired normal tissues. Lauren classification, depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, lymphatic invasion, and tumor-node-metastasis stage were associated with miR-145-5p expression. miR-145-5p inhibits the expression of the candidate target gene ZEB2 to delay the invasion and migration of GC cells. ZEB2 acts as transcriptional repressor of E-cadherin, while miR-145-5p is known to suppress N-cadherin directly to regulate EMT. Therefore, we concluded that miR-145-5p may target N-cadherin and ZEB2 directly to influence EMT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China; Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shi-Bin
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xu-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ying-Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wei-Jian
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China; Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jun-Gang
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China; Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hou-Quan
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Tao
keywords: epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT); gastric cancer; miR-145-5p; zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2)