miR‑146a‑5p targets TCSF and influences cell growth and apoptosis to repress NSCLC progression

Several studies have indicated that microRNAs (miRs) mediate multiple pathways associated with tumorigenesis and progression. Our preliminary study experimentally verified that miR‑146a‑5p has a role in the biological behavior of non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. To perform further investigation of miR‑146a‑5p, the present study evaluated miR‑146a‑5p by targeting its downstream gene tumor collagenase stimulatory factor (TCSF) to influence cell viability, proliferation and apoptosis in NSCLC. Online sequence prediction, a thorough search of the open source database The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), immunohistochemistry (IHC) of TCSF in clinical lung cancer tissues, and a dual‑luciferase assay, as well as assays to test viability, proliferation and apoptosis in vitro, were conducted to explain the targeted regulation association between miR‑146a‑5p and TCSF in NSCLC. The miRanda and TargetScanHuman database revealed that TCSF and miR‑146a‑5p had target binding sites. A luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that miR‑146a‑5p and TCSF did have complementary sequences (P