Besides, RT-PCR combined with western blotting demonstrated that the miR-31 expressions were higher in the normal tissues than those in the GC tissues, while the ITGA5 mRNA and protein showed lower expression in the normal tissues than they did in the GC tissues.
Downregulated miR-31 level associates with poor prognosis of gastric cancer and its restoration suppresses tumor cell malignant phenotypes by inhibiting E2F2.
Functional studies showed that increasing miR-31 inhibited GC cell proliferation, promoted apoptosis and attenuated cell migration, which were also linked to downregulation of STAT3.
This new information may help to clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in gastric carcinogenesis and to indicate that miR-31 may be a novel diagnostic biomarker of gastric cancer.