miR-301b-3p promotes lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting DLC1

Abstract Background miR-301b-3p has been reported to be abnormally expressed in various human cancers including lung cancer. However, the underlying role and molecular mechanisms in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of miR-301b-3p in LUAD. Methods Based on TCGA database, we found that miR-301b-3p was prominently up-regulated in LUAD tissues. A series of functional experiments including CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay and Transwell assay uncovered that the up-regulation of miR-301b-3p facilitated LUAD cell proliferation, migration and invasion abilities. Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay demonstrated that Deleted in Liver Cancer 1 (DLC1) was negatively regulated by miR-301b-3p, and it was extremely lowly expressed in LUAD tissues and cells. Results Rescue experiments suggested that overexpressing DLC1 restored the promoting effect of miR-301b-3p on LUAD cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Conclusions Taken together, our study elucidated that miR-301b-3p promoted LUAD cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeted suppressing DLC1 expression. The discovery of the mechanism provides a novel therapeutic strategy for LUAD patients, which helps to improve the survival of patients.