miR-125b-5p inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma via targeting TXNRD1

• Published in: Cancer cell international 2019-07, Vol.19 (1), p.203-203, Article 203
• Main Authors: Hua, Shengni, Quan, Yingyao, Zhan, Meixiao, Liao, Huaxin, Li, Yong, Lu, Ligong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Hepatocellular carcinoma; miR-125b-5p; Primary Research; Proliferation; TXNRD1
• ISSN: 1475-2867; 1475-2867
• DOI: 10.1186/s12935-019-0919-6

( ) is an antioxidant enzyme reportedly overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the detailed function and mechanisms of TXNRD1 in HCC remain obscure. In this study, we investigated the miR-125b-5p-specific regulation of levels and its effect on HCC cells. We detected miR-125b-5p levels in human HCC tissue samples through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and in vitro experiments were employed to investigate the effect of miR-125b-5p on HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Additionally, we examined miR-125b-5p-mediated changes in TXNRD1 levels by qRT-PCR and western blotting, and a dual luciferase-reporter assay was conducted to confirm direct targeting of the 3' untranslated region of TXNRD1 mRNA by miR-125b-5p. miR-125b-5p expression was reduced in HCC tissues relative to that in matched para-carcinoma tissues; this finding was verified in HCC cohorts from the Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas. Additionally, low miR-125b-5p expression was associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients, and gene-set enrichment analysis indicated that miR-125b-5p levels were associated with HCC proliferation and metastasis. As predicted, overexpressing miR-125b-5p restrained the proliferation, migration, and invasion of Huh7 and SK-Hep-1 cells and forced expression of the miR-125b-5p-downregulated TXNRD1 mRNA and protein levels in HCC cells. Moreover, dual luciferase-reporter assays revealed that miR-125b-5p targets to directly regulate its expression, whereas overexpression abolishes the inhibitory effect of miR-125b-5p on HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. These results demonstrated miR-125b-5p as a tumor suppressor in HCC through its inhibition of , thereby suggesting it as a potential target for the clinical treatment of HCC.