A great many microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to play different roles in human cancers, including gastric cancer (GC). However, the specific character of miR-23a-3p in GC has not been elucidated. This study was to explore the function of miR-23a-3p in GC. The results manifested that miR-23a-3p was down-regulated in GC and patients with reduced miR-23a-3p had poor prognosis. Functional experiments assured that elevated miR-23a-3p refrained GC proliferation, invasion, migration, PIK3/Akt phosphorylation and apoptosis, while knockdown miR-23a-3p accelerated the growth of GC. Double luciferase report experiments manifested that miR-23a-3p targeted CCL22 expression. Functional rescue experiments affirmed that the repression of elevated miR-23a-3p on GC was reversed by simultaneous augmented CCL22. In vivo, elevated miR-23a-3p restrained the volume and tumor of GC and reduced the expression of CCL22 and phosphorylated PIK3/Akt, while knockdown miR-23a-3p motivated tumor growth. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that miR-23a-3p plays a repressive role in GC, and affects the progression of GC via down-regulating CCL22 and blocking PI3K/AKT signal transduction pathway, which may offer a new molecular target for clinical treatment of GC.
Keywords: PI3K/AKT; gastric cancer; miR-23a-3p; molecular mechanism.