MicroRNA-766 promotes cancer progression by targeting NR3C2 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

MicroRNAs(miRNAs)havebeen reportedtoplayimportant rolesintumorprogressionof various cancers. However, the clinical significance and biologic function of miR-766 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the roles of miR-766 in HCC progression using HCC cell lines and a xenograft mouse model. miR-766 expression in tumor tissues and adjacent nontumorous liver tissues of patients with HCCwas evaluatedbyquantitativeRT-PCR. Our results showedthatmiR-766promotedproliferation andmetastasis of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo and that NR3C2 was a direct target of miR-766 and involved in miR-766-mediated proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells. We also found that miR-766 affected the b-catenin signaling pathway by targeting NR3C2. Furthermore, miR-766 was significantly up-regulated in HCC tissues and was correlated with the prognosis of patients with liver cancer. Taken together, our results show that miR-766 affects HCC progression by modulating NR3C2 expression and is a possible new therapeutic target for patients with HCC.