miR-149 suppresses human non-small cell lung cancer growth and metastasis by inhibiting the FOXM1/cyclin D1/MMP2 axis.

Valid evidence has demonstrated that microRNAs have critical functions in cancer genesis and tumor progression. In the present study, aberrant expression of microRNA-149 (miR-149) was confirmed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues. Low expression of miR-149 was associated with malignant clinical features and poor survival. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that miR-149 inhibited NSCLC tumor growth and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, oncogenic transcription factor FOXM1 was confirmed as a direct target of miR-149 in NSCLC. Cyclin D1 and MMP2 served as downstream targets of FOXM1 and were also inhibited by miR-149. In summary, the present study indicated that downregulation of miR-149 in NSCLC predicted poor clinical outcomes. miR-149 suppresses tumor growth and metastasis in NSCLC by inhibiting the FOXM1/cyclin D1/MMP2 signaling pathway.