Knockdown of microRNA-126 Suppresses Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer via Inhibiting PI3K-AKT-mTOR Pathway

Abstract Background As one of the most common cause of cancer death in the world, lung cancer causes approximate 1.6 million deaths annually. Among, NSCLC accounts approximately 85% of patients in whole lung cancer patients. As one of miRNAs, miR-126 closely involves in pathogenesis of several types of cancers including colorectal, prostate, bladder and gastric cancer, and so on. Thus, the present study aims to investigate effects of miR126 on pathogenesis of NSCLC. In the study, two lung cancer cell lines including A549 and H1650 were used. Results It was found that expression of miR126 was decreased in PBMC of NSCLC patients compared to healthy control. Expression of miR126 was decreased in cancer tissue compared to paracancerous tissues in NSCLC patients. MiR-126 KD remarkably increased expression of apoptosis genes including caspase3 and capsae9, and decreased cell viability in lung cancer cells including A549 and H1650 cells. Interesting, In Silico analysis indicated that miR-126 could target PI3K signaling pathway, which was confirmed by WB assay. KD of PI3KR2 compromised promotion of miR-126 on cell apoptosis. Similarly, it was found that KD of mTOR compromised promotion of miR-126 on cell apoptosis. Conclusions Thus, the present study confirmed that miR-126 plays an important role in apoptosis of lung cells via mTOR signaling pathway. miR-126 might be a potential therapeutic target for developing novel drugs against NSCLC.