Downregulating microRNA-144 mediates a metabolic shift in lung cancer cells by regulating GLUT1 expression

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Increasing evidence has found that cancer metabolism alternations represent a critical hallmark for lung cancer. There is an urgent requirement to understand and dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer metabolism for lung cancer therapy. It remains largely unknown whether the deregulation of miRNAs contributes to the cancer metabolism. The present study aimed to investigate the role of miR-144 in lung cancer. Glucose uptake rate and lactate production assays demonstrated that miR-144 expression is decreased and therefore enhances the aerobic metabolism in lung cancer cells. In addition, western blot analysis revealed that miR-144 performs this function by increasing the expression of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), leading to an increase in glucose uptake and lactate production. Furthermore, cell viability assays demonstrated that the altered metabolism induced by miR-144 results in the rapid growth of cancer cells. In conclusion, these results identify miR-144 as a molecular switch involved in the orchestration of the Warburg effect in lung cancer cells via targeting the expression of GLUT1.