miR-134 inhibits epithelial to mesenchymal transition by targeting FOXM1 in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Recent studies have implied that miRNAs act as crucial modulators for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We found that miR-134 expression correlated with invasive potential and EMT phenotype of NSCLC cells. Functional assays demonstrated that miR-134 inhibited EMT in NSCLC cells. In addition, we showed that Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1) is a direct target of miR-134. Knockdown of FOXM1 reversed EMT resembling that of miR-134 overexpression. We further found that FOXM1 was involved in TGF-beta 1-induced EMT in A549 cells. These findings suggest that miR-134 acts as a novel EMT suppressor in NSCLC cells. (C) 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.