miR-628-3p exerts a carcinogenic effect on hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with the highest mortality rate among various types of liver tumors. miR-628-3p, a microRNA, has been identified as a tumor suppressor in multiple cancer types, yet its function in hepatocellular carcinoma has not been investigated. This study aimed to examine the effect of miR-628-3p on the occurrence and development of HCC and its specific molecular mechanism. Here, we evaluated the effect of miR-628-3p on HCC proliferation by using in vitro proliferation assays and a xenograft tumor model. Flow cytometry was used to monitor the cell cycle and apoptosis of HCC cells. Reverse Transcription-Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot (WB) were used to determine the expression of each gene. Our study showed that miR-628-3p levels decrease in HCC, and its overexpression can enhance cell proliferation and cell cycle progression while suppressing apoptosis. Examination of the gene expression profiles of MHCC9H cells with miR-628-3p overexpression shows that cancer-promoting pathways like hypoxia and Notch signaling are upregulated. Meanwhile, miR-628-3p overexpression inhibits tumor suppressor pathways such as apoptosis and p53 signaling. miR-628-3p affects the cell cycle and apoptosis of HCC through the p53 pathway. Moreover, the expression of miR-628-3p is regulated by p53 to some extent. Our findings suggest that miR-628-3p has a tumor-promoting effect on HCC and that miR-628-3p inhibitors may be a new therapeutic approach for HCC.