MiR-34c regulates the proliferation and apoptosis of lung cancer cells.

Purpose: As miR-34c acts as a tumor suppressant for multiple cancers, the purpose of this study was to investigate that role that miR-34c plays in the proliferation and apoptosis of lung cancer.

Methods: The expression of miR-34c in 600 patients with lung cancer was quantitatively analyzed with real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) technology and correlated to clinical pathological parameters. The CCK-8 analysis and flow cytometry were carried out to detect cell proliferation and apoptosis in miR-34c-mimic transfected cell lines. Moreover, the regulation of miR-34c to interleukin-6 (IL-6) in cell lines was detected by western blot, qRT-PCR and dual-luciferase reporter assay.

Results: The expression of miR-34c was downregulated in lung cancer compared with adjacent normal tissues. The expression level of miR-34c was linked to stromal invasion. Furthermore, overexpressing miR-34c played an active role in effectively inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. In addition, a significant inverse relationship was exhibited between the expression of miR-34c and IL-6 in tumor tissues.

Conclusion: At the molecular level, IL-6 can be used as a direct target of miR-34c in the treatment of lung cancer cells and miR-34c can be used as an effective biomarker and therapeutic target for lung cancer.