Expression and significance of microRNA-181b in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To explore the role of microRNA-181b （miR-181b） in the pathogenesis of human hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）. Methods We detected the expressions of miR-181 b by using re- al-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） in LO2 （normal human liver cell line）, HepG2 and SMMC7721 （human HCC cell lines） , normal liver tissues, para-cancerous tissue and cancer- ous tissues surgically resected from 35 cases of HCC. Cell Counting Kit-8 （ CCK-8 ） assay and growth curve were used to asses the effect of miR-181b inhibitor on proliferation of HCC cells. Results The expression of miR-181b in HepG2 and SMMC7721 cells was significantly higher than in L02 cells （0. 582 ± 0. 032 and 0. 716 ±0. 045 vs. 0. 255 ±0. 039,P 〈0. 05）, and that in cancerous tissue was significantly higher than in normal liver tissues and para-cancerous tissues （0. 636 ± 0. 038 vs. 0. 156 ± 0. 005 and 0. 167 ± 0. 023, P 〈0. 05）. miR-181b inhibitor could reduce the proliferative ability of HCC cells. Conclusion These re- suits indicate that the high expression of miR-181b is probably involved in HCC pathogenesis. Downregula- tion of miR-181b expression can inhibit the proliferation of HCC cells, miR-181b may act as a molecular tar- get for HCC diagnosis and targeted therapy. Key words: MicroRNA-181 b ; Carcinoma, hepatocellular; Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction