miR-548b-3p functions as a tumor suppressor in lung cancer.

miR-548-3p is one of the members of miR-548 family, a large primate-specific miRNA gene family. The role of miR-548-3p in lung cancer was less studied. In this study, we found the expression of miR-548-3p was lower both in clinical tumor specimens and lung cancer cells compared with normal controls. In vitro, miR-548-3p inhibited lung cancer cell growth and promoted cell apoptosis at the S stage of cell cycle. The underlying mechanism of miR-548b-3p-induced cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis may be associated with the inhibition of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In vivo, miR-548b-3p also suppressed tumor growth in xenografts model of lung cancer cells. Our results indicated that miR-548b-3p might be an anti-tumor target of lung cancer in the future.