Objective To investigate the effects of miR-601 on the migration and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer cells and the underlying mechanism in vitro.

Methods RT-qPCR were performed to detect miR-601 expression in NSCLC and adjacent normal tissues, and we analyzed the correlation between the expression level of miR-601 and cancer cell invasion or lymph node metastasis. The A549 or H1299 cells were transfected with miR-601 mimics, and cell migration and invasion abilities were tested by Transwell assay. The bioinformatics was used to predict the target gene of miR-601, and a luciferase reporter assay was used to validate the target gene. We detected the effect of miR-601 target gene on the migration and invasion of A549 or H1299 cells.

Results miR-601 expression was down-regulated in NSCLC tissues (P < 0.001). miR-601 expression were significantly correlated with the invasion (P < 0.007) and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.011) of NSCLC. Overexpression of miR-601 mimics in A549 or H1299 cells reduced cell migration and invasion. MMP-17 was a target gene of miR-601. Overexpression of MMP-17 significantly promoted the migration and invasion of A549 or H1299 cells, whereas miR-601 expression significantly inhibited the suppressed cell invasion induced by MMP-17.

Conclusion miR-601 suppresses the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells by targeting MMP-17.