miR-183 inhibits invasion of gastric cancer by targeting Ezrin

miR-183, a member of an evolutionarily conserved miRNA cluster (miR-96, miR-182, and miR-183), has been demonstrated to act as both a tumor suppressor and oncogene in various type of human cancer. However, the biological role of miR-183 in gastric cancer (GC) still remains unclear. In the present study, miR-183 expression was significantly decreased in gastric cancer tissues compared with its' adjacent normal tissues, and down-regulation of miR-183 was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis and pathological TNM stage. Furthermore, Erzin, which was reported to be up-regulated in gastric cancer, was identified as an efficient target of miR-183. Overexpression of miR-183 markedly suppressed cells invasion by downregulation of Ezrin expression. However, miR-183 expression didn't affect cells proliferation and cell cycle distribution of GC. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that miR-183 acts as a tumor suppressor in GC, partially at least via regulation of Ezrin. Therefore, miR-183 may be a potential target for the treatment of gastric cancer.