MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been involved in some human malignancies and correlated with tumor progression. The dysregulation of miR-130 is found in various cancers and correlated with tumor proliferation and apoptosis. However, its expression and function in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not been investigated yet. In this study, we demonstrated that miR-130 is significantly down-regulated in NSCLC tissue samples and cell lines. Low miR-130 expression was closely associated with lymph node metastasis, late stages of disease progression and diminished survival in NSCLC patients. The up-regulation of miR-130 could significantly inhibit NSCLC cell growth and enhance cell apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Whereas inhibition of miR-130 exerted opposite effects. Furthermore, dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that PTEN was regulated by miR-130 directly, and the knockdown of PTEN markedly abrogated the anti-growth effect of miR-130. Additionally, miR-130 was found positively correlated with PTEN in NSCLC specimens. In conclusion, our results suggested that the expression of miR-130 is significantly associated with the growth and apoptosis of NSCLS cells by targeting PTEN, whilst miR-130 may be a potential therapeutic target for NSCLC treatment.
Keywords: Non-small cell lung cancer; PTEN; apoptosis; miR-130; proliferation.