MiR-135a inhibits non-small cell lung cancer progression by suppressing RAB1B expression and the RAS pathway

Lung cancer is the most common tumor in China and worldwide. Despite advances in diagnosis and therapy, it still represents the most lethal malignancy in industrialized countries. The study of regulatory noncoding RNAs has deepened our understanding of cancer on the molecular and clinical level. In this article, it showed that miR-135a was aberrantly downregulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells in comparison with normal bronchial epithelial cells, and the expression of miR-135a inhibited proliferation, invasion and metastasis of NSCLC cells in vitro. Moreover, it was demonstrated that miR-135a inhibited the expression of multiple components (including RAS, Raf1, Rac1 and RhoA) of the RAS pathway via RAB1B, which was a novel target of miR-135a. The expression of miR-135a and RAB1B could effectively predict the clinical outcomes of NSCLC. In summary, miR-135a might function as a suppressor of NSCLC cells, and thus could be used as a potential therapeutic target.