miR-208a-3p suppresses cell apoptosis by targeting PDCD4 in gastric cancer

Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) is a novel tumor suppressor gene and a promising target for anticancer therapies. PDCD4 is frequently downregulated in various human cancers; however, the molecular mechanism accounting for the loss expression of PDCD4 in cancers is not fully understood. In this study, we identified specific targeting sites for miR-208a-3p in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the PDCD4 gene which regulated PDCD4 expression. We demonstrated that miR-208a-3p suppressed apoptosis in gastric cancer cells by targeting PDCD4. We also showed that miR-208a-3p promoted the development of tumor growth in xenograft mice by negatively regulating PDCD4. Taken together, this study revealed a critical role for miR-208a-3p as an oncogenic miRNA in gastric carcinogenesis and it may provide a potential novel target for gastric cancer diagnosis and therapy.