ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the significance of miR-193b to biological behaviors of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods 48 cases of HCC specimens and corresponding adjacent tissues were collected, and the miR-193b expression levels in these specimens were measured by real-time quantitative PCR. The miR-193b expression was measured by the same way in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells. The HepG2 and SMMC-7721 were transfected with miR-193b mimics or negative control miRNA mimic with Lipofectamine 2000, and the non-transfected cells were taken as blank control. The proliferation ability of the HCC cells were detected by MTT method, and the apoptosis rate was tested by flow cytometry. Results The expression level of miR-193b in HCC tissues (2.441 ±0.569) was significantly lower than that in the corresponding adjacent tissues (15.488±4.326) (P < 0.05). Compared with normal liver cell line L-O2, the expression levels of miR-193b were significantly lower in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells. Transfected with miR-193b mimic, the proliferation ability of HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells were reduced, while their apoptosis were increased. Conclusion miR-193b may be negative to regulate the proliferation of HCC and increase its apoptosis.