miR-429 functions as a tumor suppressor by targeting FSCN1 in gastric cancer cells

Min Zhang,1 Bing-bin Dong,2 Min Lu,1 Mei-juan Zheng,1 He Chen,1 Jing-zhen Ding,3 A-Man Xu,2 Yuan-hong Xu11Clinical Laboratory, 2Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USAAbstract: It has been previously reported that the deregulation of microRNAs in gastric cancer (GC) was correlated with the progression and prognosis. miR-429, a member of the miR-200 family, was previously shown to play an important role in human carcinomas. Our study shows that miR-429 is significantly downregulated in GC tissues compared with matched nontumor tissues. Overexpression of miR-429 in GC cells suppressed cell proliferation. Fascin-1 (FSCN1) was identified as one of the targets of miR-429 and knockdown of FSCN1 mimics the function of miR-429 overexpression. In conclusion, miR-429 acts as a tumor suppressor by targeting FSCN1, suggesting that miR-429 and FSCN1 can both be potential therapeutic targets of GC.Keywords: miR-429, gastric cancer, FSCN1, proliferation