Hsa-miR-335 enhances cell migration and invasion in lung adenocarcinoma through targeting Copine-1

Lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) is one of the most common pulmonary adenocarcinomas with a high peak of mortality, and metastasis is the main culprit of LAC deaths. microRNAs play important role in cancer metastasis, and thus are regarded as potential diagnostic and prognostic markers for human cancers. However, many miRNAs exhibit dual roles in diverse cellular contexts. Here, we revealed that hsa-miR-335, a previously reported tumor suppressor, exhibited an oncogenic role in LAC. Overexpression of miR-335 enhanced the abilities of A549 and H1299 cells to invade and migrate by regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition, while inhibition of miR-335 exhibited an opposite effect in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, miR-335 inhibited the expression of Copine-1 (CPNE1), an NF-κB suppressor, through interacting with its mRNA 3'UTR, while mutating the binding sites abolished this inhibitory effect. This finding not only highlights the suppressive effect of CPNE1 on cell motility, but also provides new insight into miR-335 in promoting LAC metastasis.