RNA interference-mediated silencing of G protein-coupled receptor 137 inhibits human gastric cancer cell growth.

G protein‑coupled receptor 137 (GPR137) is an integral membrane protein, which belongs to the GPR137 family of cell surface mediators of signal transduction. GPF137 was recently identified; however, its role in human disease onset has remained to be elucidated. GPR137 is highly expressed in multiple human gastric cancer cell lines. A GPR137 short hairpin RNA (shRNA)‑expressing vector was transfected into AGS and MGC80‑3 gastric cancer cells, and the subsequent depletion of GPR137 resulted in a significant reduction in cell proliferation and colony formation, as determined by MTT and colony formation assays. In addition, cell cycle analysis indicated that GPR137 knockdown arrested MGC80‑3 cells in G2/M phase. To the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to investigate the role of GPR137 in gastric tumorigenesis and revealed that knockdown of GPR137 by lentivirus‑mediated shRNA transfection inhibited the growth of gastric cancer cells in vitro. These results indicated that GPR137 may present a novel target for the development of pharmacological therapeutics for human gastric cancer.