MicroRNA-206, down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma, suppresses cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis

MicroRNA-206 has been proven down-regulated in many human malignancies and correlated with tumor progression. However, the expression and functions of miR-206 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are still unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of miR-206 in HCC tumorigenesis and development.

The expression levels of miR-206 were quantified by qRT-PCR in 147 surgically resected HCC and matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues, and correlated with clinicopathological factors. MTT, flow cytometric assay, and Transwell invasion and migration assays were used to test the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and migration of HepG2 HCC cells transfected with miR-206 mimics or negative control (NC) RNA-oligonucleotides.

MiR-206 expression was significantly downregulated in HCC compared with matched non-cancerous liver tissues. Low level of miR-206 was associated with poor tumor differentiation, multiple tumor nodes, lymph node metastasis, and advanced TNM stage. In addition, transfection of miR-206 mimics in HepG2 cells was able to reduce cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, and promote cell apoptosis.

These findings demonstrate that miRNA-206 could not only be useful as a novel biomarker but also serve as a potential target for gene therapy of HCC.