MiR-381 functions as a tumor suppressor in gastric cancer by targeting ROCK2

MiR-381 has been reported to be deregulated in many different types of human cancers. However, the clinical significance and function of miR-381 in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. Based on real-time quantitative PCR (RTq-PCR) analysis, we found that miR-381 was frequently lost or downregulated in GC tissues and cell lines, and decreased miR-381 was correlated with GC tumor size (P=0.012), TNM stage (P=0.007), invasion depth (P=0.008) and lymphatic metastasis (P=0.019). Cellular function assays revealed that miR-381 restoration inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion of GC cells. In addition, we validated that ROCK2 was as a direct target of miR-381, and knockdown of ROCK2 had similar with effects of miR-381 restoration in GC cells, while overexpression of ROCK2 attenuated the inhibitory effects of miR-381 on GC cells. These data suggest that miR-381 serves as a tumor suppressor by targeting ROCK2, which may provide a potential therapeutic tool for GC therapy.