[HTML][HTML] microRNA-29a suppresses cell proliferation by targeting SPARC in hepatocellular carcinoma

XC Zhu, QZ Dong, XF Zhang… - International …, 2012 - spandidos-publications.com
XC Zhu, QZ Dong, XF Zhang, B Deng, HL Jia, QH Ye, LX Qin, XZ Wu
International journal of molecular medicine, 2012spandidos-publications.com
In the present study, we constructed a lentivirus vector encoding the miR-29a precursor and
established two stably infected cell lines, PLC-29a and 97L-29a. The overexpression of miR-
29a was confirmed by TaqMan RT-PCR and significantly suppressed the growth of the
hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines MHCC-97L and PLC. Dual-luciferase reporter assays
indicated that the SPARC mRNA 3'UTR was directly targeted by miR-29a since the mutated
3'UTR was not affected. Silencing SPARC expression by RNAi knockdown resulted in a …
Abstract
In the present study, we constructed a lentivirus vector encoding the miR-29a precursor and established two stably infected cell lines, PLC-29a and 97L-29a. The overexpression of miR-29a was confirmed by TaqMan RT-PCR and significantly suppressed the growth of the hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines MHCC-97L and PLC. Dual-luciferase reporter assays indicated that the SPARC mRNA 3'UTR was directly targeted by miR-29a since the mutated 3'UTR was not affected. Silencing SPARC expression by RNAi knockdown resulted in a similar effect as miR-29a overexpression on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell growth regulation. Anti-miR-29a oligonucleotides (AMOs) upregulated the levels of SPARC in the HCC cells. The phosphorylation of AKT/mTOR downstream of SPARC was inhibited in miR-29a-overexpressing HCC cells. We further examined and compared the expression levels of miR-29a in HCC tissues and the corresponding nearby non-cancerous liver tissues of 110 patients with HCC by qRT-PCR, and significantly lower expression of miR-29a was observed in the tissues affected by HCC. Our findings demonstrate that the expression of miR-29a is important in the regulation of the SPARC-AKT pathway and HCC growth.
Spandidos Publications