APEX1 and gastric cancer: For instance, in gastric cancer cells, the suppression of miR-27a-5p appeared to promote both proliferation and cell motility, likely due to the fact that inhibition of miR-27a-5p impaired the suppression of one of its targets, APEX1, which is known to promote epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and related cell phenotypic changes [30].