Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects more than 90% of the global population and is associated with a variety of
tumors including
nasopharyngeal carcinoma,
Hodgkin lymphoma, natural killer/T
lymphoma, and gastric
carcinoma. In EBV-associated
gastric cancer (EBVaGC), highly expressed EBV BamHI A rightward transcripts (BART)
miRNAs may contribute to
tumorigenesis with limited
viral antigens. Despite previous studies on the targets of BART
miRNAs, the functions of all 44 BART
miRNAs have not been fully clarified. Here, we used
RNA sequencing data from the
Cancer Genome Atlas to find genes with decreased expression in EBVaGC. Furthermore, we used AGS cells infected with EBV to determine whether expression was reduced by BART
miRNA. We showed that the expression of
Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) is lower in AGS-EBV cells than in the AGS control. Using bioinformatics analysis, four BART
miRNAs were selected to check whether they suppress KLF2 expression. We found that only miR-BART17-5p directly down-regulated KLF2 and promoted gastric
carcinoma cell migration and anchorage-independent growth. Our data suggest that KLF2 functions as a
tumor suppressor in EBVaGC and that miR-BART17-5p may be a valuable target for effective EBVaGC treatment.