MiR-128b is down-regulated in gastric cancer and negatively regulates tumour cell viability by targeting PDK1/Akt/NF-κB axis.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most prevalent type of cancer worldwide, which is usually caused by the interaction between environmental and genetic factors, or epigenetic aspects. Referring to the non-coding RNAs, miR-128b has been reported to be associated with many tumour cases, and exerts distinct functions in different types of cancers. However, the function of miR-128b in GC onset and progression largely remains unknown. In the present study, we found that miR-128b expression was down-regulated in tissues from 18 GC patients and 3 carcinoma cell lines. In turn, over-expression of miR-128b suppressed GC cell proliferation, invasion and promoted apoptosis. Moreover, miR-128b was predicted to bind the 3'UTR of PDK1 gene using bioinformatic target-screening tools. Accordingly, ectopic expression of miR-128b inhibited the PDK1 expression at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels, and furthermore, the expression of gene tailed by the 3'UTR of PDK1 gene was significantly decreased in a dualluciferase reporter assay, suggesting that PDK1 was a direct target of miR-128b in GC cells. In the conditon of miR- 128b over-expression, we also observed spontaneous inactivation of the Akt/NF-κB signalling, implying PDK1 was a potential regulator of this pathway. In conclusion, our study shed some novel light on miR-128b-PDK1/Akt/NF-κB axis on GC progression.