MicroRNA-144 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation, invasion and migration by targeting ZFX

Abstract

MicroRNA 144 (miR-144), a small non-coding RNA, is frequently dysregulated in human several tumour progression, but its role and the underlying mechanisms in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is poorly investigated. In the present study, the expression of miR-144 was firstly analysed in datasets derived from GSE21362 and TCGA, and then detected in HCC tissues and cell lines by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. MiR-144 was shown to be significantly down-regulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. Subsequently, overexpression of miR-144 was transfected into HCC cell lines so as to investigate its biological function, including MTT, colony formation, and transwell assays. Gain of function assay revealed miR-144 remarkably inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion. In addition, bioinformatical analysis and luciferase reporter assay identified ZFX as a novel target of miR-144 in HCC cells, as confirmed by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Furthermore, ZFX was found to be significantly up-regulated using Oncomine database analysis. Loss of function assay further indicated knockdown of ZFX had similar effects of miR-144-mediated HCC cell proliferation and invasion. Therefore, miR-144 has been demonstrated to act as a tumour suppressor in HCC cell growth and motility by directly targeting ZFX, which implicates its potential applications in the development of HCC treatment.

Effects of miR-144 on the sensitivity of human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells to cisplatin by autophagy regulation

“…Acting as either oncogenes or tumor suppressors during tumorigenesis, they can play a causal role in the occurrence, development and progression of cancers. 10 MiR-144 has been identified as a tumor suppressor in a spectrum of human cancers such as lung cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and clear cell renal cell carcinoma etc.. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] In addition, miR-144 has been most thoroughly studied in hepatocellular carcinoma according to our research. However, very few studies focusing on the role of miR-144 in thyroid carcinoma were published.…”

<p>LncRNA FTX Promotes Proliferation and Invasion of Gastric Cancer via miR-144/ZFX Axis</p>

“…It was reported that ZFX is a direct target of miR-144, and regulation is achieved through a single miR-144 binding sequence in its 3ʹUTR. 14,30,31 In 2012, Akiyoshi has found the role of miR-144-ZFX axis in the dissemination of tumor cells. 30 In 2013, Zha has revealed the importance of miR-144-ZFX pathway in the non-small cell lung cancer regulation.…”

MiR-144 suppresses proliferation, invasion, and migration of breast cancer cells through inhibiting CEP55

“…11 For instance, MiR-144 was recognized as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and could inhibit HCC cell proliferation, invasion and migration by targeting ZFX. 12 A recent study also demonstrated that overexpression of miR-144 could suppress epithelial mesenchymal transition. 13 Sun et al revealed that the miR-144 functioned as a tumor-suppressor in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).…”