Open Access

ARTICLE

miR-202 Suppresses Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression via Downregulating BCL2 Expression

Donghai Zhuang¹, Li Liang¹, Hongzhan Zhang, Xianguang Feng

Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, P.R. China

Oncology Research 2020, 28(4), 399-408. https://doi.org/10.3727/096504020X15864296270581

Abstract

miRNAs play an important role in progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this work, we assessed the function of miR-202 in human HCC and identified BCL2 as its target. We found miR-202 expression was found significantly downregulated, while BCL2 expression was markedly upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines (HepG2, Hep3B, and HCCLM3). Both miR-202 and BCL2 were closely correlated with major vascular invasion and advanced TNM stage as well as overall survival of HCC patients. Overexpression of miR-202 significantly inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, and prevented tumor formation in a xenograft nude mouse model. Further, miR-202 dramatically inhibited migration, invasion, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition. miR-202 bound to the 3 -untranslated region (3 -UTR) of BCL2 mRNA and downregulated the expression level of BCL2 protein. Exogenous BCL2 overexpression weakened the inhibitory effects of miR-202, while inhibition of BCL2 enhanced the inhibitory effects of miR-202. In conclusion, miR-202 serves as a tumor suppressor in HCC progression by downregulating BCL2 expression, indicating miR-202 might be a potential target for HCC.

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Keywords

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