miR-150-5p Inhibits Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Metastasis and Recurrence by Targeting HMGA2 and β-Catenin Signaling

Dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in the regulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs), and CSCs are closely associated with tumor initiation, metastasis, and recurrence. Here we found that miR-150-5p was significantly downregulated in CSCs of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its expression level was negatively correlated with disease progression and poor survival in patients with NSCLC. Inhibition of miR-150-5p increased the CSC population and sphere formation of NSCLC cells in vitro and stimulated NSCLC cell tumorigenicity and metastatic colonization in vivo. In contrast, miR-150-5p overexpression potently inhibited sphere-formed NSCLC cell tumor formation, metastatic colonization, and recurrence in xenograft models. Furthermore, we identified that miR-150-5p significantly inhibited wingless (Wnt)-β-catenin signaling by simultaneously targeting glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta interacting protein (GSKIP) and β-catenin in NSCLC cells. miR-150-5p also targeted high mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2), another regulator of CSCs, and Wnt-β-catenin signaling. The restoration of HMGA2 and β-catenin blocked miR-150-5p overexpression-induced inhibition of CSC traits in NSCLC cells. These findings suggest that miR-150-5p functions as a CSC suppressor and that overexpression of miR-150-5p may be a novel strategy to inhibit CSC-induced metastasis and recurrence in NSCLC.