[miR-758-3p inhibits the proliferation and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer cells by targeting NUSAP1]

Objective: To investigate the biological function of miR-758-3p and the underlying mechanism in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: miR-758-3p mimics was transfected to A549 NSCLC cells, miRNA control was used as a negative control, cells transfected with nucleolar and spindle associated protein 1 (NUSAP1)-overexpression vector indicated as NUSAP1 group, cells co-transfected with miR-758-3p mimics and NUSAP1-overexpression vector indicated as miR-758-3p mimics+ NUSAP1 group. The effects of miR-758-3p on the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of A549 cells were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and Transwell assays, respectively. Bioinformatics and dual luciferase reporter assay were used to predict and verify the target gene of miR-758-3p. Results: The expressions of miR-758-3p and NUSAP1 in A549 cells were significantly up-regulated at 24 hours after transfection with miR-758-3p mimics (P<0.05). Compared with the miRNA control group (1.15±0.06), the OD value of miR-758-3p mimic group (0.78±0.06) was significantly decreased at 72 hours after transfection (P<0.05). The number of migrated cells of miR-758-3p mimic group (119.04±11.49) was significantly lower than that of the control group (271.38±19.05) (P<0.05). The number of invaded cells of miR-758-3p mimic group (71.33±5.36) was significantly lower than the control group (164.30±8.11) (P<0.05). The result of dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that NUSAP1 was a direct target of miR-758-3p. Moreover, up-regulation of NUSAP1 abolished the inhibitory effects of miR-758-3p on the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of A549 cells. Conclusion: miR-758-3p inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells by targeting NUSAP1.