Knocking down MiR-15a expression promotes the occurrence and development and induces the EMT of NSCLC cells in vitro

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a major type of lung cancer, with the highest mortality rate in all cancers. For all stages of NSCLC, the five-year survival is less than fifteen percent. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a significant process in tumor occurrence and development, in which microRNAs may play an important role. In many cancers, microRNA-15's family member can act as suppressors or oncogenes of tumors; however, the relation between these microRNAs and EMT in lung cancer remains unclear. According to our study, miR-15a expression decreased in tumor tissues compared with than that in adjacent tissue samples. Knocking down miR-15a expression in NSCLC cells inhibited apoptosis and facilitated cell proliferation and invasion, and. Moreover, down-regulating miR-15a decreased the expression of an EMT-associated protein, E-cadherin, while increased those of vimentin, N-cadherin, and slug.