MiR-211 inhibits cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition by targeting MMP9 in gastric cancer

Recent studies have demonstrated that the dysregulation of miRNAs are frequently associated with cancer progression including gastric cancer (GC). MiR-211 was found to act as tumor suppressor in GC, however, the functional role of miR-211 involved in GC cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process still to be investigated. In the study, we demonstrated that miR-211 was lower expression in gastric cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. Lower miR-211 expression was positively associated with distant metastasis and lymph node metastasis in GC patients. Survival curve by Kaplan-Meier method and log rank test revealed that lower miR-211 expression indicated a poor outcome in GC patients. Function assays showed that miR-211 inhibited cell invasion and cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in GC by upregulating E-cadherin expression and down-regulating twist1 and N-cadherin expression. Furthermore, we demonstrated that miR-211 suppressed cell EMT by targeting MMP9 expression in GC. These results showed that miR-211 acted as a tumor suppressor in GC and may be a potential target of GC treatment.