BackgroundDifferent gastric cancer (GC) subtypes usually possess distinct clinical outcomes. The function of miR-194 in gastric cancer remains unclear and controversial. This study aimed to identify potential microRNAs that differentially expressed in subtypes and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of miR-194 in GC.MethodsComprehensive miRNA expression analysis was performed using the available miRNA-seq data from TCGA stomach cancer cohort. The preferences of miR-194 in regulating target genes were determined by RNA sequencing studies. The function of miR-194 in GC was explored in GC cell lines by performing qRT-PCR assays, western blot assays, cell proliferation assays, luciferase report assays and flow cytometry assay.ResultsIn this study, we identified a series of miRNAs that can serve as prognostic biomarkers for GC. Among them, miR-100, miR-125b, miR-199a and miR-194 were the 4 most promising prognostic biomarkers in GC due to their significant associations with various clinical characteristics of patients. MiR-100, miR-125b and miR-199a predicted poor prognosis in GC, while miR-194 predicted favorable prognosis in GC. Besides, we provided the first comprehensive transcriptome analysis about miR-194 in GC. The results showed that miR-194 tended to regulated target genes by binding on their 3' untranslated regions in a 7-mer-A1 or 7-mer-m8 or 8-mer manner. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that cell cycle was one of the most affected pathways by miR-194 in GC. Moreover, CCND1 was proved to be a novel target gene of miR-194 in GC. Additionally, the downregulation of CCND1 by miR-194 in GC further led to cell growth inhibition and cell cycle arrest. ConclusionsMiR-100, miR-125b, miR-199a and miR-194 could serve as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers for GC. MiR-194 might suppress GC cell growth mainly through targeting CCND1 and induction of cell cycle arrest.