Background: MiR-221 is over-expressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its clinical significance and\r\nfunction in HCC remains uncertain. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between miR-221\r\noverexpression and clinicopathological parameters in HCC formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, and the\r\neffect of miR-221 inhibitor and mimic on different HCC cell lines in vitro.\r\nMethods: MiR-221 expression was detected using real time RT-qPCR in FFPE HCC and the adjacent noncancerous\r\nliver tissues. The relationship between miR-221 level and clinicopathological features was also analyzed.\r\nFurthermore, miR-221 inhibitor and mimic were transfected into HCC cell lines HepB3, HepG2 and SNU449. The\r\neffects of miR-221 on cell growth, cell cycle, caspase activity and apoptosis were also investigated by\r\nspectrophotometry, fluorimetry, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, respectively.\r\nResults: The relative expression of miR-221 in clinical TNM stages III and IV was significantly higher than that in the\r\nstages I and II. The miR-221 level was also upregulated in the metastatic group compared to the nonmetastatic\r\ngroup. Furthermore, miR-221 over-expression was related to the status of tumor capsular infiltration in HCC clinical\r\nsamples. Functionally, cell growth was inhibited, cell cycle was arrested in G1/S-phase and apoptosis was increased\r\nby miR-221 inhibitor in vitro. Likewise, miR-221 mimic accelerated the cell growth.\r\nConclusions: Expression of miR-221 in FFPE tissues could provide predictive significance for prognosis of HCC\r\npatients. Moreover, miR-221 inhibitor could be useful to suppress proliferation and induce apoptosis in HCC cells.\r\nThus miR-221 might be a critical targeted therapy strategy for HCC.
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