Restoration of miR-1228 * Expression Suppresses Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Gastric Cancer

Dysregulated miRNAs play critical roles during carcinogenesis and cancer progression. In the present study, the function of miR-1228 * in regulating cancer progression was investigated in gastric cancer. Decreased expression of miR-1228 * was observed in human gastric cancer tissues comparing to normal tissues. Subsequently, the role of miR-1228 * was evaluated in vivo using the tumor xenograft model. In this model, miR-1228 * overexpression suppressed xenograft tumor formation. Furthermore, we demonstrated miR-1228 * negatively regulated NF-kB activity in SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells and found that CK2A2 was a target of miR-1228*. Upregulation of miR-1228 * decreased the expression of mesenchymal markers and increased the epithelial marker E-cadherin, suggesting its potential role in suppressing epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Collectively, these findings provide the first evidence that miR-1228 * plays an important role in regulating gastric cancer growth and suggest that selective restoration of miR-1228 * might be beneficial for gastric cancer therapy