ABSTRACT
Purpose To study the role of lnc-HOTAIR and its target-controlled miR-21 on invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCC) and its related mechanisms.Methods The expression of miR-21 in 30 cases of HCC was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR),and correlation with clinical pathology was also analyzed.siRNA of lncHOTAIR was transfected to HCC HepG2 cell (HepG2),invasive activities of HepG2 was detected by Transwell,the expression of miR-21 was determined by qRT-PCR,the expression of protein MMP-2 was determined by Western blotting,and the correlation with miR-21 expression was analyzed.Results Compared with pericarcinous tissue,the expressions of miR-21 in tumor tissue increased apparently (P ＜ 0.05).The expressions of miR-21 correlated positively with malignancy degree,differentiation degree and invasion and metastasis respectively,and correlated negatively with tumour size,tumour number and level of AFP respectively.After silencing the HOTAIR gene,the invasive activities of HepG2 were suppressed,the expression of miR-21 gene and MMP-2 protein were down regulated,and both of them were positively correlated.Conclusion High expressions of miR-21 in liver cancer correlate positively with malignancy degree,differentiation degree,intrahepatic and extrahepatic metastases and portal vein tumor thrombus respectively.HOTAIR may inhibit the invasion and metastasis of HCC by controlling the expression level of miR-21.