Effects of microRNA-378 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, invasion and prognosis in gastric carcinoma by targeting BMP2

OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer (GC) is a common malignancy. Recent studies have suggested that microRNAs are crucial factors in tumorigenesis. Thus, we investigated the effect of miR-378 on GC metastasis and further explored the underlying mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was carried out to measure the miR-378 expressions in GC and adjacent normal tissue samples. MiR-378 expressions in human GC cells were determined using qRT-PCR and Western blots. Moreover, transwell assays were conducted to measure the invasion and migration capacities of GC cells. Additionally, the regulating effects on BMP2 by miR-378 were assessed by luciferase reporter assays and western blots. Western blot was also carried out to observe the protein expressions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related genes. RESULTS: MiR-378 expressions in GC tissues were downregulated. In the meantime, reduced miR-378 expression was associated with poor prognosis and malignant clinicopathologic features of GC patients. MiR-378 overexpression repressed GC cell invasion, migration and EMT. Furthermore. BMP2 was a direct target of miR-378 and implicated in miR-378-mediated suppressive functions in GC invasion, migration and EMT. CONCLUSIONS: We showed that miR-378 served as a tumor suppressor in GC via modulating BMP2, suggesting that miR-378/BMP2 axis might be therapeutic targets and promising biomarkers for GC treatment.