Tumor suppressor role of miR-3622b-5p in ERBB2-positive cancer

Over-expression or amplification of ERBB2 is observed in multifarious carcinomas. However, the molecular mechanism of ERBB2 downregulation in ERBB2-positive cancers remains obscure. This experiment investigated the suppressive role of miR-3622b-5p in ERBB2-positive breast and gastric cancers. The luciferase activity of ERBB2 3'-untranslated region-based reporters constructed in HEK-293T, SK-BR-3 and MCF-10A cells suggested that ERBB2 was the target gene of miR-3622b-5p. Over-expressed miR-3622b-5p reduced the protein level of ERBB2, weakened the activation of mTORC1/S6, and induced the apoptosis of ERBB2-positive cancer cells. MiR-3622b-5p was significantly down-regulated in breast and gastric cancer tissues. This down-regulation in ERBB2-positive breast and gastric cancer tissues was more obvious than that in ERBB2-negative breast and gastric cancer tissues. MiR-3622b-5p turned ERBB2-positive cancer cells more vulnerable to the apoptosis induced by cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. Taken together, miR-3622b-5p is involved in the proliferation and apoptosis of human ERBB2-positive cancer cells via targeting ERBB2/mTORC1 signaling pathway.