MiR-1976 affects lung squamous cell carcinoma development by targeting NCAPH

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is one of the major subtypes of lung cancer. Non-SMC condensin I complex subunit H (NCAPH) is highly regarded as a valuable biomarker in certain malignant tumors. However, the specific roles of NCAPH in LUSC are not well understood. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of NCAPH on the progression of LUSC and to identify the microRNAs (miRNAs) located upstream of NCAPH that regulate its function. MicroRNA and mRNA expression profiles, as well as clinical data of LUSC (Normal: 49, LUSC: 502), were obtained from the TCGA database for the purpose of differential analysis and survival analysis. The expression of NCAPH and miR-1976 in LUSC cell lines was detected using Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot techniques. In this study, the impact of NCAPH on the proliferation of LUSC cells was assessed using CCK-8 and colony formation assay. Additionally, the effects of NCAPH on the migration and invasion of LUSC cells were evaluated using the Transwell assay. Furthermore, the effects of NCAPH on the apoptosis of LUSC cells were evaluated using flow cytometry. The target miRNAs of NCAPH were predicted using bioinformatics, and the targeting link between miR-1976 and NCAPH was confirmed using a dual-luciferase reporter gene experiment. The findings indicated that the expression of NCAPH was notably elevated in LUSC tissues (P < 0.05), while the expression of its upstream miRNA (miR-1976) was notably reduced (P < 0.05). The dual-luciferase test results indicated that miR-1976 functions as an upstream target miRNA of NCAPH. Low expression of NCAPH may inhibit the proliferation (P < 0.05), migration (P < 0.05), invasion (P < 0.05), and promote apoptosis (P < 0.05) in LUSC cells. However, the suppression of miR-1976 may reverse this inhibitory effect by specifically targeting NCAPH. This study showed that NCAPH can serves as a novel potential oncogenic biomarker for LUSC and its regulation is controlled by upstream miR-1976. miR-1976 can directly targets NCAPH to affect the proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of LUSC cell.