Mechanism and clinical significance of miR-101 targeting and regulating liver cancer proliferation and metastasis

Objective To investigate the effect of microRNA-101(miR-101) overexpression on proliferation and metastasis of human hepatoma HepG2 cells and the molecular mechanism. Methods HepG2 cells were divided into blank group, negative control group and miR-101 transfection group. HepG2 cell line stably overexpressing miR-101 was established by lentiviral vector. The overexpression of miR-101 was detected by chemiluminescence method. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein was detected by Western Blot. Scratch experiments was used to analyze the cell migration and the Transwell assay was used to detect cell proliferation. Results The expression of miR-101 in HepG2 cells was significantly increased after transfection with miR-101, and there was a direct targeting relationship between miR-101 and VEGF. Compared with the negative control group, the VEGF protein level in the miR-101 transfected group was significantly down-regulated, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). Moreover, the cell scratch healing ability and invasion ability were decreased in the miR-101 transfected group. Conclusions Overexpression of miR-101 can inhibit invasion and migration of human hepatoma HepG2 cells by targeting VEGF. Key words: microRNA-101; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Liver cancer; Cell proliferation; Cell migration