Aberrantly expressed miR-188-5p promotes gastric cancer metastasis by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common human cancers with the high rate of recurrence, metastasis and mortality. Aberrantly expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) are associated with invasion and metastasis in various human cancers. Recently, miR-188-5p has been indicated as an oncogene in GC since it promotes GC cell growth and metastasis. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be fully defined. METHODS: Using Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM) screening, we identified that miR-188-5p is associated with overall survival and lymph node metastasis in patients with GC. The functional impact of miR-188-5p on GC metastasis was validated using in vitro and in vivo assays. The regulatory function of miR-188-5p on Wnt/β-catenin signaling activation through directly targeting PTEN was proven using quantitative real-time PCR, western blot analysis, a dual-luciferase assay, a Transwell assay, and immunofluorescence. Immunohistochemical analyses further confirmed the clinical significance of miR-188-5p in GC. RESULTS: MiR-188-5p diminishes tumor suppressor PTEN expression, and further increases phospho-Ser9 of GSK3β to activate Wnt/β-catenin signaling in GC. Consequently, miR-188-5p enhanced the migration and invasion of GC cells in vitro and tumor metastasis in vivo, whereas inhibition of miR-188-5p had the opposite effects. Moreover, miR-188-5p was negatively correlated with PTEN expression but positively correlated with nuclear β-catenin staining in GC samples. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed a model of the miR-188-5p-PTEN-β-catenin axis in GC, which mediates the constitutive activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and promotes tumor metastasis, inferring that miR-188-5p is a potential therapeutic target to treat GC. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-019-5731-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.