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miR-383 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation via targeting APRIL

Lin Chen1, Haitao Guan1, Chunyan Gu1

  • 1Department of Gastroenterology and Clinical Laboratory, The Third People's Hospital of Nantong City, Jiangsu, 226006, China.

Tumour Biology : the Journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine
|September 20, 2015
PubMed

Insights

MicroRNA-383 (miR-383) is downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), correlating with poor prognosis. Restoring miR-383 suppresses HCC cell proliferation by targeting APRIL, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs involved in gene regulation.
  • Dysregulation of miRNAs is common in human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
  • miRNAs play critical roles in cancer cell proliferation and progression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the expression pattern of miR-383 in HCC.
  • To determine the correlation between miR-383 expression and HCC patient prognosis.
  • To elucidate the functional role of miR-383 in HCC cell proliferation and identify its target genes.

Main Methods:

  • Quantitative real-time PCR to assess miR-383 expression in HCC tissues and cell lines.
  • Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression to evaluate prognostic significance.
  • In vitro functional assays (cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis) to study miR-383 effects.
  • Luciferase reporter assay to identify miR-383 targets.
  • Western blot and rescue experiments to validate the miR-383-APRIL interaction.

Main Results:

  • miR-383 was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines.
  • Lower miR-383 expression correlated with larger tumor size, advanced TNM stage, and poorer patient survival.
  • Ectopic miR-383 expression inhibited HCC cell proliferation, induced cell cycle arrest, and promoted apoptosis.
  • APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand) was identified as a direct target of miR-383.
  • APRIL overexpression rescued the anti-proliferative effect of miR-383 in HCC cells.

Conclusions:

  • miR-383 is a tumor suppressor in HCC, with its downregulation associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis.
  • miR-383 inhibits HCC cell proliferation, at least partially, by downregulating APRIL expression.
  • The miR-383-APRIL axis represents a potential therapeutic target for HCC treatment.
Keywords:
APRILApoptosisCell cycleCell proliferationHepatocellular carcinomamiR-383

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