BRMS1L mediated effect of miR-20a-5p expression on proliferation and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells

Cancer causes most fatalities worldwide next only to cardiovascular disease. Early diagnosis helps to reduce such incidences. In gastric cancer, abnormal expressions of micro ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) could serve as a marker. However, studies involving both miR-20a-5p and BRMS1L expressions are limited. Here, we studied the expressions of micro ribonucleic acid (miR)-20a-5p and its target gene breast cancer metastasis suppressor 1-like (BRMS1L) in gastric cancer tissues and their effects on the proliferation and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. The expression of miR-20a-5p was significantly higher and the expression of BRMS1L was lower in gastric cancer tissues than those in paracancerous tissues (P <0.05). The expression of miR-20a-5p was significantly correlated with tumor-node-metastasis stage, lymph node metastasis, infiltration depth and differentiation degree (P <0.05). The miR-20a-5p group had significantly raised cell proliferation ability and expressions of cyclin D1 and Bcl-2 as well as reduced apoptosis ability and expression of caspase-3 protein than those of control and miR-NC groups (P <0.05). MiR-20a-5p is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues and cells, and overexpression of miR-20a-5p can facilitate the proliferation and suppress the apoptosis of gastric cancer cells.