MiR-342 regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies, and its global morbidity and mortality are increasing. Previous studies confirmed that miR-342 was involved in the development and progression of malignant tumors. However, the relationship between miR-342 and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in HCC remains unknown.

Materials and methods: Cell viability was detected by MTT assay. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect Brdu-positive cells and Western blot was used to detect the apoptotic proteins. Furthermore, linear correlation analysis was used to investigate the possible relationship between miR-342 and the downstream genes of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the progression of HCC.

Results: Over-expression of miR-342 significantly reduced cell proliferation and obviously increased apoptosis in HCC, while silencing of miR-342 showed an opposite effect on HCC cell proliferation and apoptosis. In addition, we found that the CXCL12 was the target gene of miR-342. This study also demonstrated that miR-342 up-regulation suppressed Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by inhibiting CXCL12 expression.

Conclusion: Up-regulation of miR-342 inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in HCC by inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, suggesting that miR-342 might act as a promising tumor gene therapeutic target for HCC patients.