Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common causes for lung cancer and cancer-related death. The imbalance between cell proliferation and apoptosis was suggested to play an important role in cancer pathogenesis and PKC epsilon is one of the widely recognized targets. Here, we demonstrate that miR-143 is aberrantly downregulated in NSCLC tissue and negatively correlates with expression of PKC epsilon. We show that miR-143 specifically targets the 3'-UTR of PKCe and regulates its expression. Treatment with miR-143 inhibitor mimics cell proliferation and apoptosis imbalance in NSCLC, while inhibition of PKC epsilon can reverse it. Our findings suggest that targeting PKC epsilon overexpression in NSCLC should be beneficial for lung cancer therapy. (C) 2013 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.z