MICRORNA-23B INHIBITS NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER PROLIFERATION, INVASION AND MIGRATION VIA DOWNREGULATION OF RUNX2 AND INHIBITION OF WNT/B-CATENIN SIGNALING PATHWAY

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 85% of all lung cancer cases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) have been reported to play significant roles in the progression of human tumors, however, the expression and biological role of miR-23b in NSCLC remains elusive. Underexpression of miR-23b was detected in NSCLC tissues in comparison with the matched para-carcinoma tissues. The clinical value of miR-23b was analyzed, and the findings showed that miR-23b expression was negatively correlated with poor overall survival and malignant clinicopathologic characteristics of NSCLC patients. Furthermore, functional assays demonstrated that overexpression of miR-23b inhibited NSCLC cell viability, invasion and migration. Luciferase reporter assay and qRT-PCR revealed that RUNX2 was a functional target of miR-23b. The elevated expression of RUNX2 was positively correlated with overall survival of NSCLC patients. Additionally, Western blot analysis indicated that EMT and Wnt/beta-catenin pathways were blocked by the upregulation of miR-23b. Taken together, these data demonstrated that dysregulation of miR-23b/RUNX2 signal may be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of NSCLC.