MicroRNAs have been proven to play important roles in many biological processes such as cellular growth and differentiation, apoptosis, and modulation of host response to viral infection. In the present study, we find that the expression of miR-146a was decreased in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues compared with corresponding adjacent tissues, and the expression level in HCC cell lines was lower than in a normal liver cell. Over-expression suppressed the proliferation and invasion of HCC cells. In addition, luciferase reporter assays and western blotting confirmed that miR-146a directly target TRAF6 which attenuated the effect of miR-146a on cell proliferation and invasion in HepG2 and SMMC7721 cells. Meanwhile, lentivirus-mediated increased expression of miR146a repressed tumor formation in nude mice. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that miR-146a suppresses HCC by down-regulating TRAF6. We also discovered that miR-146a may represent a novel potential candidate of the HCC carcinoma diagnostic marker in the long term.
[1]East China Univ Sci & Technol, Shanghai Key Lab New Drug Design, Sch Pharm, 130 Meilong Rd, Shanghai, Peoples R China.
[2]Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ, Sch Med, Renji Hosp, Dept Gastrointestinal Surg, 160 Pujian Rd, Shanghai, Peoples R China.
[3]Fu Dan Univ, Zhong Shan Hosp, Dept Gen Surg, 180 Feng Lin Rd, Shanghai, Peoples R China.
[4]Fudan Univ, Pudong Med Ctr, Shanghai Pudong Hosp, Dept Neurol, 2800 Gongwei Rd, Shanghai, Peoples R China.
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