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miR-302b suppresses cell invasion and metastasis by directly targeting AKT2 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to play essential roles in regulating the activity of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, thereby contributing to the suppression of invasion and metastasis. In this study, using gain and loss of function assays, we demonstrated that miR-302b was frequently down-regulated in clinical HCC specimens, as compared with 15 corresponding adjacent normal tissues. Overexpression of miR-302b suppressed HCC cell invasion and metastasis. Regulation of NF-κB and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 expression by miR-302b was mediated via AKT2 in SMMC-7721 cells. Silencing AKT2 produced effects similar to those of miR-302b overexpression, which included inhibiting SMMC-7721 cell invasion and metastasis and dereasing NF-κB and MMP-2 expression. Furthermore, overexpression of AKT2 attenuated the effects of miR-302b overexpression. Taken together, our findings indicate that miR-302b inhibits SMMC-7721 cell invasion and metastasis by targeting AKT2, suggesting that miR-302b might represent a potential therapeutic target for HCC intervention.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by The National Natural Science Foundation of China (81402008), The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (08142006), The National Natural Science Foundation of China (31100921), The National Natural Science Foundation of China (5143827), and The Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (PCSIRT: 1171).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi’an, China

    Lumin Wang, Jiayi Yao, Hongfei Sun, Reifang Sun, Su’e Chang, Yang Yang, Tusheng Song & Chen Huang

  2. Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China

    Chen Huang

  3. Cardiovascular Research Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi’an, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Chen Huang

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  1. Lumin Wang
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  2. Jiayi Yao
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  3. Hongfei Sun
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  4. Reifang Sun
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  6. Yang Yang
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  7. Tusheng Song
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  8. Chen Huang
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Correspondence to Chen Huang.

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Wang, L., Yao, J., Sun, H. et al. miR-302b suppresses cell invasion and metastasis by directly targeting AKT2 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Tumor Biol. 37, 847–855 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3330-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3330-5

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