microRNA-124 inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis by directly repressing EZH2 in gastric cancer

MicroRNA-124 (miR-124), a pivotal member of the p53 network, was found to be down-regulated in multiple types of tumors and further reported as tumor suppressor microRNA. In this study, we found that miR-124 was down-regulated in gastric cancer cell lines and specimens. Restoration of miR-124 expression inhibited the proliferation and colony formation of gastric cancer cells. EZH2 (enhancer of zeste homolog 2), which has been shown to be an important transcription factor involved in the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells, was here confirmed to be a direct target gene of miR-124. On the other hand, silencing EZH2 also inhibits cell proliferation of gastric cancer cells. Furthermore, the treatment combining miR-124 with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) significantly showed more efficient anti-tumor effects than single treatment of miR-124 or 5-FU, and over-expression of miR-124 suppresses the tumor growth in vivo. Our study indicate that miR-124 can suppress gastric cancer cell growth by directly targeting the EZH2 gene and sensitize the treatment effect of 5-FU. Therefore, miR-124 shows tumor-suppressive activity and may be a new and useful approach of gastric cancer therapy.