Down-regulation of miR-150 induces cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis in non-small-cell lung cancer by targeting BAK1 in vitro

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death. Our investigations show that miR-150 is a typical microRNA that is overexpressed in human NSCLC. We characterized the effects of miR-150 overexpression in NSCLC cells and found that down-regulation of miR-150 expression inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in vitro; additionally, up-regulation of miR-150 levels had the opposite effect on tumor growth and progression. Furthermore, we found that the mechanism of the miR-150 effects on NSCLC cells was associated with alterations in the expression of human BRI1-associated receptor kinase 1 (BAK1). miR-150 may function as an oncogene in NSCLC cells by directly targeting BAK1. Thus, these data highlight a novel molecular interaction between miR-150 and BAK1 and provide a novel strategy for NSCLC therapy via the down-regulation of miR-150 expression.