Cryptotanshinone inhibits the proliferative and colony formation abilities of human non-small cell lung cancer cells (NSCLCs). The present study reported that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 is not the only target of cryptotanshinone during the inhibition of human NSCLCs. It was identified that cryptotanshinone upregulates the expression levels of microRNA (miR)-30d-5p, miR-126-3p, miR-133a, miR-338-3p and miR-451a, and downregulates miR-21-5p, miR-96-5p, miR-182-5p and miR-205-5p. Among these, miR-133a was the most significantly upregulated. miR-133a targets and downregulates the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)14; however, MMP15, MMP16 and MMP24 were determined to be unaffected. This process was identified to be independent of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2. Cryptotanshinone also suppresses the invasion of human NSCLCs, which may be due to the inhibited expression of MMP14. In conclusion, cryptotanshinone may serve as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of lung cancer.
Keywords: cancer cell invasion; cryptotanshinone; lung cancer; matrix metalloproteinase 14; microRNA-133a.