title: MicroRNA-144-3p suppresses gastric cancer progression by inhibiting epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition through targeting PBX3.
abstract: MicroRNAs are aberrantly expressed in a wide variety of human cancers. The present study aims to elucidate the effects and molecular mechanisms of miR-144-3p that underlie gastric cancer (GC) development. It was observed that miR-144-3p expression was significantly decreased in GC tissues compared to that in paired non-tumor tissues; moreover, its expression was lower in tissues of advanced stage and larger tumor size, as well as in lymph node metastasis tissues compared to that in control groups. miR-144-3p expression was associated with depth of invasion (P = 0.030), tumor size (P = 0.047), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.047), and TNM stage (P = 0.048). Additionally, miR-144-3p significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion in GC cells. It also reduced F-actin expression and suppressed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in GC cells. Furthermore, pre-leukemia transcription factor 3 (PBX3) was a direct target gene of miR-144-3p. PBX3 was overexpressed in GC tissues and promoted EMT in GC cells. The effects of miR-144-3p mimics or inhibitors on cell migration, invasion, and proliferation were reversed by PBX3 overexpression or downregulation respectively. These results suggest that miR-144-3p suppresses GC progression by inhibiting EMT through targeting PBX3.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jing'an District Centre Hospital of Shanghai of Fudan University, Huashan Hospital Jing'an Branch of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Butian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jing'an District Centre Hospital of Shanghai of Fudan University, Huashan Hospital Jing'an Branch of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Shengping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Jing'an District Centre Hospital of Shanghai of Fudan University, Huashan Hospital Jing'an Branch of Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: 893642198@qq.com.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: lcljm11@163.com.
authors.forename: Chenglong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018450:Disease Progression; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000502:physiology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C554293:MIRN144 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; C090466:proto-oncogene protein Pbx3
keywords: EMT; Gastric cancer; Migration; PBX3; miR-144-3p