Expression of miR-155/PTEN Axis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Its Mechanism

Abstract

Objective To detect the expression and the function of microRNA-155(miR-155) in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) tissuse, and to elucidate related mechanism. Methods miR-155 expression was examined in 30 pairs of HCC and adjacent normal tissues by quantitative reverse transcription PCR(qRT-PCR). HCC cells were treated with miR-155 mimic to upregulate miR-155 expression in vitro. CCK-8 and Transwell assays were used to analyze the changes in cell proliferation and migration. PTEN was predicted to be the direct target of miR-155 by bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay. The prognostic value of miR-155 and PTEN in patients with HCC were assessed through cBioPortal database. Results miR-155 was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues compared with that in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.0001). Overexpression of miR-155 was associated with worse disease free survival (P=0.021). Elevated expression of miR-155 promoted the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Furthermore, miR-155 directly repressed PTEN expression, which enhanced PI3K signaling pathway. Deletion of PTEN depicted worse disease free survival in patients with HCC (P=0.0133). Conclusion The axis of miR-155/PTEN accelerates HCC progression.

Keywords

• hepatocellular carcinoma
• microrna-155
• pten