miR‑20b promotes growth of non‑small cell lung cancer through a positive feedback loop of the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway

Ren,Tao; Fan,Xing‑Xing; Wang,Mei‑Fang; Duan,Fu‑Gang; Wei,Chun‑Li; Li,Run‑Ze; Jiang,Ze‑Bo; Wang,Yu‑Wei; Yao,Xiao‑Jun; Chen,Ming‑Wei; Tang,Yi‑Jun; Leung,Elaine  Lai‑Han

doi:10.3892/ijo.2019.4940

miR‑20b promotes growth of non‑small cell lung cancer through a positive feedback loop of the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway

Authors:
- Tao Ren
- Xing‑Xing Fan
- Mei‑Fang Wang
- Fu‑Gang Duan
- Chun‑Li Wei
- Run‑Ze Li
- Ze‑Bo Jiang
- Yu‑Wei Wang
- Xiao‑Jun Yao
- Ming‑Wei Chen
- Yi‑Jun Tang
- Elaine Lai‑Han Leung
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Affiliations: Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei 442000, P.R. China, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau Institute For Applied Research in Medicine and Health, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, P.R. China, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, P.R. China
Published online on: December 13, 2019 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2019.4940
Pages: 470-479
Copyright: © Ren et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are endogenous noncoding single‑stranded RNA molecules that can regulate gene expression by targeting the 3'‑untranslated region and play an important role in many biological and pathological processes, such as inflammation and cancer. In this study, we found that miR‑20b was significantly increased in human non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines and patient tissues, suggesting that it may possess a carcinogenic role in lung cancer. This miRNA promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells by targeting and downregulating the expression of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), which is a negative regulator of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Wnt signaling activation may increase transcription of miR‑20b. Therefore, miR‑20b and canonical Wnt signaling were coupled through a feed‑forward positive feedback loop, forming a biological regulatory circuit. Finally, an in vivo investigation further demonstrated that an increase in miR‑20b promoted the growth of cancer cells. Overall, our findings offer evidence that miR‑20b may contribute to the development of NSCLC by inhibiting APC via the canonical Wnt signaling pathway.

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