miR-122 inhibits metastasis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of non-small-cell lung cancer cells.

miR-122 may function as a novel tumor suppressor. Expression of miR-122 could suppress the proliferation of multi-kinds of human cancer cell lines. In this work, expression of miR-122 via adenoviral vector in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells reduces the number of invasion and migration cells. miR-122 attenuates the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process, which mediates cancer cells metastasis in NSCLC cells A549 and H460. The mechanisms data reveals that miR-122 would disrupt the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process by downregulating PI3K/AKT activation via reducing endogenous expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor. These data highlight the detailed roles and potential application of miR-122 in NSCLC cells.