MicroRNA-4732 is downregulated in non-small cell lung cancer and inhibits tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion

Abstract

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer death with increasing morbidity and mortality. MicroRNA-4732-5p (miR-4732-5p) has been reported to be dysregulated in various cancers and identified as a tumor suppressor. This study aims to explore the expression and role of miR-4732-5p in NSCLC.

Methods: Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay was employed to detect the expression of miR-4732-5p in NSCLC. With the help of Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression, the prognostic significance of miR-4732-5p was investigated. Meanwhile, the effects of miR-4732-5p on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were also studied.

Results: The expression of miR-4732-5p decreased in NSCLC tissues and cells. The downregulation of miR-4732-5p was closely associated with lymph node metastasis, TNM stage, and poor prognosis. Multivariate Cox regression analysis results showed that miR-4732-5p was an independent prognosis factor for NSCLC. In addition, the overexpression of miR-4732-5p inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NSCLC cells through modulating TSPAN13.

Conclusions: These data showed that miR-4732-5p might be involved in the development of NSCLC, which can act as an independent prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.

Keywords: MicroRNA-4732-5p; Non-small cell lung cancer; Prognosis; Progression.