Let-7c inhibits A549 cell proliferation through oncogenic TRIB2 related factors

MicroRNAs have tumor suppressive or oncogenic roles in carcinogenesis. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of let-7c in suppressing lung cancer cell proliferation. First, let-7c was revealed to be able to inhibit lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation significantly. TRIB2 was further demonstrated to be a novel target and negatively regulated by let-7c. As downstream signals of TRIB2, the activities of C/EBP-α and phosphorylated p38MAPK were increased obviously in let-7c-treated cells compared with controls. Our results demonstrate that, through regulating the expression of TRIB2 and its downstream factors, let-7c can effectively inhibit A549 cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo.