MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are important molecules that are able to regulate multiple cellular processes in cancer cells. miR-7 has been previously identified as a tumor suppressive miRNA in several types of cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether miR-7 is able to regulate autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. It was identified that miR-7 was significantly downregulated in tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. Overexpression of miR-7 inhibited cell proliferative activity, which was partially reversed by miR-7 inhibitor. In addition, overexpression of miR-7 significantly induced an increasen in autophagic activity, and luciferase activity assay and western blot analysis identified that mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) was a direct target of miR-7. In addition, inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine resulted in a marked enhancement of the proliferation inhibition effect of miR-7. In conclusion, miR-7 was identified to induce proliferation inhibition and autophagy in HCC cells by targeting mTOR, and inhibition of autophagy may be utilized to enhance the antitumor activity of miR-7.
Keywords: autophagy; hepatocellular carcinoma; mammalian target of rapamycin; microRNA-7.