Effects and mechanism of microRNA-1973 on proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Objective To investigate the effect of microRNA (miRNA, miR)-1973 expression on the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its underling mechanism. Methods The expression of miR-1973 was detected in hepatoma tissues and matching non-tumor tissues by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Then the relationship between miR-1973 expressions and the prognosis of liver cancer patients was analyzed. Followed cell transfection targeted regulation the expression of miR-1973, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to analyze its effect on the proliferation of HCC cells. Meanwhile, RT-qPCR and Western blotting were employed to detect the changes of suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2). Double luciferase reporter gene assay was applied to examine the fluorescence intensity changes in the 3’ non-coding region of SOCS2. Results The expression of miR-1973 in liver cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues (t=4.216, P 0.05). Conclusion miR-1973 was over-expression in HCC tissues, and inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells through SOCS2. miR-1973 may be a new target for the treatment of HCC. Key words: MicroRNA-1973; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Proliferation; Suppressor of cytokine signaling 2