MicroRNA-588 suppresses tumor cell migration and invasion by targeting GRN in lung squamous cell carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to be critical in regulating tumor development and progression. The present study investigated the expression of miR-588 using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis in 85 cases of lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and observed the correlation between the expression of miR-588 with clinical pathologic features. The results indicated that the expression of miR-588 was predominantly lower in the tumor samples, compared with non-tumorous samples, and was negatively associated with tumor stages and lymph node invasion. The present study also examined the significance of the expression of miR-588 in SCC using gain- and loss-of-function analyses. It was found that miR-588 inhibited tumor cell migration and invasion. In addition, it was revealed that the overexpression of miR-588 in SCC cells reduced the mRNA and protein levels of progranulin (GRN), whereas miR-588 silencing increased the expression of GRN. A luciferase activity assay showed that miR-588 was able to directly bind to the 3′untranslated region of GRN and regulate its expression. Furthermore, it was found that the expression of GRN was inversely correlated with the expression of miR-588 in 85 paired SCC samples. These results indicated that GRN was involved in the miR-588-mediated suppressive functions in the progression of SCC.