Zhang Junrui, Qiu Yue, Ma Fubin, Niu Xingdong, Bai Pengwei, Da Mingxu, Ma Junfeng
The First School of Clinical Medicine, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
Department of Internal Medicine, Shenzhen People's Hospital, Shenzhen, 518000, China.
Discov Oncol. 2025 Apr 22;16(1):591. doi: 10.1007/s12672-025-02390-w.
Gastric cancer is a significant contributor to worldwide cancer deaths with limited treatment options and poor patient survival. MicroRNAs play crucial roles as potential oncogenic factors or tumor suppressors in cancers by modulating cell cycle progression, proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis. However, the functional implications of miR-103a-3p in gastric cancer remain poorly known. The current study demonstrates a noteworthy increase in the expression of miR-103a-3p in gastric cancer tissues when compared to neighboring non-cancerous tissues. Our functional investigations indicate that the upregulation of miR-103a-3p contributes to enhanced proliferation, invasion, and migration capabilities in gastric cancer cells. After mechanistic studies, our findings indicate that miR-103a-3p may directly target insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 (IGFBP5) in gastric cancer. Moreover, rescue experiments reveal that IGFBP5 overexpression can attenuate the progression induced by miR-103a-3p in gastric cancer cells. In summary, our findings suggest that the miR-103a-3p/IGFBP5 axis may play a role in gastric cancer progression, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target and prognostic marker.
胃癌是全球癌症死亡的一个重要原因，治疗选择有限，患者生存率低。微小RNA通过调节细胞周期进程、增殖、迁移、侵袭和凋亡，作为潜在的致癌因素或肿瘤抑制因子在癌症中发挥关键作用。然而，miR-103a-3p在胃癌中的功能意义仍鲜为人知。目前的研究表明，与邻近的非癌组织相比，miR-103a-3p在胃癌组织中的表达显著增加。我们的功能研究表明，miR-103a-3p的上调有助于增强胃癌细胞的增殖、侵袭和迁移能力。经过机制研究，我们的发现表明，miR-103a-3p可能在胃癌中直接靶向胰岛素样生长因子结合蛋白5（IGFBP5）。此外，挽救实验表明，IGFBP5过表达可以减弱miR-103a-3p诱导的胃癌细胞进展。总之，我们的发现表明，miR-103a-3p/IGFBP5轴可能在胃癌进展中起作用，突出了其作为治疗靶点和预后标志物的潜力。
