Overexpression inhibits the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer cells
TUESDAY, Sept. 15, 2015 (HealthDay News) — MiRNA-506 (miR-506) is involved in gastric cancer, inhibiting the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and suppressing angiogenesis, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in The American Journal of Pathology.
Zhen Li, from the Cancer Research Institute of Southern Medical University in China, and colleagues examined the possible role of miR-506 in gastric cancer, assessed its correlations with clinical outcomes, and investigated its potential role in angiogenesis and metastasis of gastric cancer cells.
The researchers found that miR-506 expression was a useful marker for stratifying patients from early to advanced clinical stages and for prediction of overall survival. Overexpression and depletion, respectively, of miR-506 inhibited and promoted the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer cells. Gastric cancer angiogenesis was suppressed by miR-506, which also was linked to decreased matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression. A target of miR-506, ETS1, was expressed in 71.1 percent of gastric cancer tissue samples. ETS1 expression also correlated with matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression.
“Our study revealed the functional relevance of miR-506 with respect to angiogenesis and metastasis, suggesting that miR-506 acts as a tumor suppressor in gastric cancer,” the authors write. “Additional studies will be needed to explore the potential clinical utility of miR-506 as a potential biomarker for gastric cancer prognosis and as a new potential therapeutic target.”
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