Lung cancer is the main cause of cancer death in males and females worldwide. Reduced expression of miR-145 has been reported in many types of cancers. In this study, we transfected miR-145 into lung cancer cells by vector-based miR-145, and investigated the effects of this intervention on growth and migration inhibition of cancer cells as well on the expression of targeted genes.

IC50 of Geneticin (G418) antibiotic was measured using MTT test in NSCLC cell lines. miR-145 was transfected into lung cancer cells by jetPEI. qRT-PCR was used to evaluate the transcript level of the miR-145 and expression for KRAS, MMP-9, vimentin, caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9 genes in A549 cells. MTT assay was used to evaluate the proliferation inhibition of cancer cells. Wound healing assay was used to check the migration status of transfected lung cancer cells. The apoptosis induction was assessed by DAPI staining assay.

The MTT assay showed that the IC50 of Genticin was 494.1 μg/ml. The results of the qRT-PCR showed increased expression level of miR-145 and downregulation of KRAS, MMP-9, and vimentin expression in A549 transfected cells compared with the control group. The MTT assay results demonstrated inhibition of cancer cell proliferation after miR-145 replacement. Wound healing assay results revealed that migration was reduced upon miR-145 transfection. The transfected cell displayed increased apoptosis rate by inducing caspase-3 and caspase-9 mRNA expression.

The results of this study showed that increased miR-145 expression exerted a critical role in subsiding the growth, survival, and migration of lung cancer cell line.