MicroRNA-490 regulates lung cancer metastasis by targeting poly r(C)-binding protein 1

Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, with metastatic progression remaining the single largest cause of lung cancer mortality. Hence, it is imperative to determine reliable biomarkers of lung cancer prognosis. MicroRNA-490-3p has been previously reported to be a positive prognostic biomarker for hepatocellular cancer. However, its role in human lung cancer has not yet been elucidated. Here, we report that hsa-miR-490-3p expression is significantly higher in human lung cancer tissue specimens and cell line. Gain- and loss-of-function studies of hsa-miR-490-3p showed that it regulates cell proliferation and is required for induction of in vitro migration and invasion—the latter being a hallmark of epithelial to mesenchymal transition. In situ analysis revealed that hsa-miR-490-3p targets poly r(C)-binding protein 1 (PCBP1), which has been previously shown to be a negative regulator of lung cancer metastasis. Reporter assays confirmed PCBP1 as a bona fide target of miR-490-3p, and metagenomic analysis revealed an inverse relation between expression of miR-490-3p and PCBP1 in metastatic lung cancer patients. In fact, PCBP1 expression, as detected by immunohistochemistry, was undetectable in advanced stages of lung cancer patients’ brain and lymph node tissues. Xenograft tail vein colonization assays proved that high expression of miR-490-3p is a prerequisite for metastatic progression of lung cancer. Our results suggest that hsa-miR-490-3p might be a potential biomarker for lung cancer prognosis. In addition, we can also conclude that the lung cancer cells have evolved refractory mechanisms to downregulate the expression of the metastatic inhibitor, PCBP1.