Tumor suppressive microRNA-708 targets Notch1 to suppress cell proliferation and invasion in gastric cancer.

Growing evidence has demonstrated that numerous microRNAs (miRNAs) may participate in the regulation of gastric carcinogenesis and progression. This phenomenon suggests that gastric cancer-related miRNAs can be identified as effective therapeutic targets for this disease. miRNA-708 (miR-708) has recently been reported to be aberrantly expressed in several types of cancer and contribute to carcinogenesis and progression. However, the expression level, biological roles, and underlying mechanisms of miR-708 in gastric cancer are poorly understood. Here we found that miR-708 was downregulated in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. Downregulated miR-708 expression was significantly associated with lymphatic metastasis, invasive depth, and TNM stage. Further investigation indicated that ectopic expression of miR-708 prohibited cell proliferation and invasion in gastric cancer. Bioinformatics analysis showed that Notch1 was a potential target of miR-708. Notch1 was further confirmed as a direct target gene of miR-708 in gastric cancer by dual-luciferase reporter assay, reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis. Furthermore, an inverse association was found between miR-708 and Notch1 mRNA levels in gastric cancer tissues. In addition, restored Notch1 expression rescued the inhibitory effects on gastric cancer cell proliferation and invasion induced by miR-708 overexpression. Our findings highlight the tumor-suppressive roles of miR-708 in gastric cancer and suggest that miR-708 may be investigated as a novel target for gastric cancer treatment.