Regulation of miR-596 on the Apoptosis of Gastric Cancer Cells through Its Targeting Inhibition of BCL-2

Background: We aimed to investigate the relationship between miR-596, BCL-2, and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells, and to explore the mechanism of miR-596 in gastric cancer. Besides, this study aimed to find the target of miR-596 and explore the mechanism of action of miR-596 in gastric cancer. Methods: Eighteen samples of gastric cancer tissues and 18 samples of corresponding tumor-adjacent tissues were collected from 18 gastric cancer patients (aged from 40 to 55 yr) admitted to Zhuji People's Hospital, Zhuji, China from March 2017 to May 2018. The expression levels of miR-596 and BCL-2 were detected to verify the regulation of miR-596 on the apoptosis and proliferation of gastric cancer cell lines MKN-45 and HGC-27 and its effect on BCL-2 expression. Results: The expression level of miR-596 was notably lower in gastric cancer tissues than in adjacent tissues, and BCL-2 level was notably higher in gastric cancer tissues than in adjacent tissues. After the up-regulation of miR-596 expression, the proliferation of MKN-45 and HGC-27 cells was significantly decreased, the level of apoptosis was significantly increased (P<0.05), and the expression of BCL-2 was decreased. The dual-luciferase report showed that miR-596 had a targeting inhibition of BCL-2. Gastric cancer cells with up-regulated miR-596 and BCL-2 had significantly higher proliferation and lower apoptosis than cells with up-regulated miR-596. Conclusions: miR-596 can inhibit the proliferation of gastric cancer cells and promote the apoptosis through its targeting inhibition of BCL-2 expression.