MEG2 is regulated by miR-181a-5p and functions as a tumour suppressor gene to suppress the proliferation and migration of gastric cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Protein-tyrosine phosphatase MEG2 (MEG2) is a classic tyrosine-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP). It has been reported that MEG2 participates in the carcinogenesis of the breast and liver. However, functions of MEG2 in gastric cancer remain poorly understood. METHODS: We examined the expression of MEG2 protein by western blotting and that of miR-181a-5p by qRT-PCR. We used bioinformatic analyses to search for miRNAs that potentially target MEG2. We performed a luciferase reporter assay to investigate the interaction between miR-181a-5p and MEG2. In addition, we assessed the effects of MEG2 and miR-181a-5p on gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: We found that MEG2 is downregulated in human gastric cancer and that miR-181a-5p is predicted to be a potential regulator of MEG2. We also observed that expression of MEG2 is reversely correlated with that of miR-181a-5p in gastric cancer. Moreover, we observed that MEG2 regulation by miR-181a-5p significantly suppresses the proliferation and migration of gastric cancer cells in vitro and decelerates tumour growth in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Our results revealed that MEG2 is a tumour suppressor gene and negatively regulated by miR-181a-5p in gastric cancer. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12943-017-0695-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.