ADAM9 enhances CDCP1 protein expression by suppressing miR-218 for lung tumor metastasis

Metastasis is the leading cause of death in cancer patients due to the difficulty of controlling this complex process. MicroRNAs (miRNA), endogenous noncoding short RNAs with important biological and pathological functions, may play a regulatory role during cancer metastasis, but this role has yet to be fully defined. We previously demonstrated that ADAM9 enhanced the expression of the pro-migratory protein CDCP1 to promote lung metastasis; however, the regulatory process remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that endogenous miR-218, which is abundant in normal lung tissue but suppressed in lung tumors, is regulated during the process of ADAM9-mediated CDCP1 expression. Suppression of miR-218 was associated with high migration ability in lung cancer cells. Direct interaction between miR-218 and the 3′-UTR of CDCP1 mRNAs was detected in luciferase-based transcription reporter assays. CDCP1 protein levels decreased as expression levels of miR-218 increased, and increased in cells treated with miR-218 antagomirs. Induction of miR-218 inhibited tumor cell mobility, anchorage-free survival, and tumor-initiating cell formation in vitro and delayed tumor metastases in mice. Our findings revealed an integrative tumor suppressor function of miR-218 in lung carcinogenesis and metastasis.