MicroRNAs-491-5p (miR-491-5p) has been found to involve in tumor initiation and development in several tumors. However, the biological function and underlying molecular mechanism of miR-491-5p in non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) remain unclear. This study was therefore to investigate biological role of and underlying molecular mechanisms of in NSCLC. It was found that miR-491-5p expression was significantly downregulated in NSCLC tissues when compared with corresponding adjacent normal tissues (P<0.01), and the value was negatively related to advanced and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and lymph node metastasis (both P<0.01). We also demonstrate that restoration of miR-491-5p suppressed NSCLC cell proliferation by arresting NSCLC cells in the G1/G0 phase and accelerating apoptosis. miR-491-5p also inhibited cell migration and invasion in NSCLC cells. Mechanically, IGF2BP1 was identified as direct targets of miR-491-5p. And IGF2BP1 expression was significantly upregulated, and correlated negative with miR-491-5p expression in NSCLC tissues. In vivo assay showed thatmiR-491-5p suppressed tumor growth in nude model by repressing IGF2BP1 expression. Collectively, miR-491-5p functioned as a tumor suppressor in NSCLC by targeting IGF2BP1. Restoration of miR-491-5p expression may represent a promising therapeutic approach for targeting malignant NSCLC.
Keywords: IGF2BP1; Non-small lung cancer; invasion; miR-491-5p; proliferation.