MiR-613 functions as tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting YWHAZ

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial regulators of affecting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and progression. However, the biological role and underlying molecular mechanism of miR-613 in HCC still remain well unknown. In the study, our results demonstrated that expression of miR-613 was significantly lower in HCC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay. The association between miR-613 expression and clinicopathologic characteristics analysis showed that lower miR-613 expression significantly associated with tumor size, vascular infiltration and poor prognostic outcome in HCC patients. In vitro, ectopic overexpression of miR-613 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and invasion capability, while down-regulated miR-613 had reversed effects. Furthermore, luciferase reporter gene assay, qRT-PCR, and western blot assays demonstrated that miR-613 target 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of YWHAZ and regulated its expression in HCC cells. Overexpression of YWHAZ partially abolished the tumor suppressing effects induced by upregulating miR-613 in HCC cells. Thus, our results implied that miR-613 may represent a novel potentially therapeutic target for HCC.