miR-512-5p suppresses proliferation, migration and invasion, and induces apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer cells by targeting ETS1

An increasing number of microRNA (miRNA) have been demonstrated to serve as molecular biomarkers for tumor cell progression. miR-512-5p was revealed as oncogenic regulator in several types of cancer. However, whether and how miR-512-5p regulates non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. In the present study, the expression of miR-512-5p was detected in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Then, the proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis in NSCLC A549 and H1299 cell lines were detected when miR-512-5p was overexpressed. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism was identified. The level of miR-512-5p was decreased in NSCLC tissues and in NSCLC cells compared with adjacent normal tissues and normal lung tissue cell lines. miR-512-5p mimics inhibited the cell proliferation, migration, invasion and induced apoptosis in A549 and H1299 cells. In addition, a luciferase reporter assay suggested that overexpression of miR-512-5p may decrease the expression of the E26 transformation specific-1 (ETS1) gene; it was subsequently verified that downregulation of the ETS1 gene inhibited cell proliferation and migration and induced cell apoptosis in A549 and H1299 cells, and ETS1 small interfering RNA in the presence of an miR-512-5p inhibitor reversed the effect. The data described in the present study suggest that miR-512-5p may be a tumor suppressor and a potential treatment target in NSCLC.