Overexpression of miR-939-3p predicts poor prognosis and promotes progression in lung cancer

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Han, Xia^{a; b; 1} | Du, Chunjuan^{b; 1} | Chen, Yinghai^c | Zhong, Xiaofei^d | Wang, Feng^b | Wang, Juan^e | Liu, Changmin^b | Li, Mianli^b | Chen, Shaoshui^b | Li, Baosheng^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250117, China | [b] Department of Oncology, Binzhou Medical University Hospital, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China | [c] Tinajin 120 Emeroency Center, Tianjin 300070, China | [d] Department of Radiology, Binzhou Medical University Hospital, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China | [e] Department of Emergency, Dongying People’s Hospital, Dongying, Shandong 257091, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Baosheng Li, Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, No. 440, Jiyan Road, Jinan, Shandong 250117, China. Tel.: +86 535 87984777; E-mail: chuangyp250@163.com.

Note: [1] The first two authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the main cancer-related deaths worldwide. In this study, we explored the clinical prognostic significance and functional role of miR-939-3p in lung cancer. METHODS: We analyzed the expression of miR-939-3p in lung cancer tissues and cells by qRT-PCR. The prognostic significance of miR-939-3p was investigated using the Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses. The CCK-8 assay was used to determine the role of miR-939-3p in cell proliferation. Transwell assays were used to determine the effects of miR-939-3p on cell migration and invasion abilities. RESULTS: The expression of miR-939-3p was upregulated in cancer tissues and cell lines compared with adjacent normal tissues and normal cells, respectively. The upregulated miR-939-3p was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, TNM stage and poor prognosis of lung cancer patients. After the transfection of miR-939 mimic, overexpression of miR-939-3p promoted lung cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that miR-939-3p acts as an oncogene and promotes cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in lung cancer. miR-939-3p may be a potential independent prognostic biomarker in lung cancer.

Keywords: miR-939-3p, lung cancer, prognosis, proliferation, migration, invasion

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-190271

Journal: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 325-332, 2019