Functionally, miR-106a targets tumour-suppressive genes such as tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP2), which normally prevents extracellular matrix degradation and liver kinase B1 (LKB1), thereby promoting degradation of the extracellular matrix and activation of the PI3K/AKT and AMPK-mTOR pathways. Here, TIMP2 is linked to neoplasm.