MicroRNA-383 inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma cells by targeting PHF8

Background: To study the effect of microRNA-383 (miR-383) on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, and explore its mechanism. Methods: The expressions of miR-383 and plant homology domain that refers to protein 8 (PHF8) were detected in tissues and cells by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or western blot respectively. The miR-383 group (transfected miR-383 mimics), miR-con group (transfected miR-con), si-con group (transfected si-con), si-PHF8 group (transfected si-PHF8), miR-383 + ctrl group (cotransfected miR-383 mimics and pcDNA-3.1), miR-383 + PHF8 group (cotransfected miR-383 mimics and pcDNA-3.1-PHF8) were transfected into HepG2 cells by liposome method. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) or trans-well assays respectively. The luciferase activity of each group was detected by dual luciferase reporter gene assay. Results: Compared with normal adjacent tissues, the expression of miR-383 was significantly down-regulated and the expression of PHF8 was significantly up-regulated (p <.05). Compared with normal hepatocellular cell LO2, the expression of miR-383 was significantly reduced (p <.05) in HCC cells. Moreover, overexpression of miR-383 or silencing of PHF8 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. In addition, PHF8 was targeted by miR-383 and its restoration rescued the inhibitory effect of miR-383 on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. Conclusion: miR-383 could inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells by targeting PHF8, which will provide a basis for miR-383 targeted therapy for HCC.