Non‑coding RNAs serve essential roles in regulating mRNA and protein expression and dysregulation of non‑coding RNAs participates in a variety of types of cancer. microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs), which are 21‑24 nucleotides non‑coding RNAs, have been shown to be important for the development of gastric cancer (GC). However, the role of miR‑486‑5p in GC remains to be elucidated. The present study found that miR‑486‑5p was downregulated in GC tissues. Comparing with gastric normal cells GES‑1, GC cells, including MKN‑45, AGS, HGC27 and MKN74, had reduced abundance of miR‑486‑5p transcript. CCK8 and colony formation assays demonstrated that GC cell growth and proliferation were enhanced by miR‑486‑5p inhibitors and were suppressed by miR‑486‑5p mimics. miR‑486‑5p also suppressed cell cycle process and migration and promoted apoptosis in GC cells, as verified by propidium iodide (PI) staining, Transwell assay and PI/Annexin V staining. miR‑486‑5p downregulated fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) through combining to its 3'untranslated region. Overexpression of FGF9 accelerated the growth and proliferation of GC cells. The expression of miR‑486‑5p was negatively associated with FGF9 mRNA expression in GC samples. These results revealed that miR‑486‑5p was a tumor suppressor in GC. Downregulation of FGF9 contributed to the role of miR‑486‑5p in GC.
Keywords: cell growth; cell migration; fibroblast growth factor 9; gastric cancer; miR‑486‑5p.