MiR-106b-5p promotes gastric cancer progression by directly targeting the tumor suppressor RBL2.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common malignancy and the fifth highest cause of cancer-related deaths on a global scale. This study reveals that miR-106b-5p promotes malignant phenotypes in GC by targeting retinoblastoma-like protein 2 (RBL2). Using miR-106b-5p mimic/inhibitor and RBL2 overexpression plasmids in AGS/HGC-27 cells, this study demonstrates that miR-106b-5p promotes proliferation (CCK-8/clone formation) and migration/invasion (Transwell assay) and suppresses apoptosis (flow cytometry), while RBL2 rescues these effects. Luciferase assays confirm that miR-106b-5p directly binds the 3’UTR of RBL2 and western blotting demonstrates the presence of RBL2 downregulation. Animal studies further validate the tumour-promoting role of miR-106b-5p via RBL2 suppression, which suggests its therapeutic potential. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-30601-5.