Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a common type of human cancer with a poor prognosis, and investigating the potential molecular mechanisms that can contribute to gene diagnosis and therapy. Herein, based on the recently concerned vertebrate-specific Cyr61/CTGF/NOV (CCN) gene family because of its important roles in diverse diseases, we obtained NOV/CCN3 to query for its potential roles in tumorigenesis via bioinformatics analysis. Experimental validations confirmed that both NOV mRNA and protein are up-regulated in two ICC cell lines, suggesting that it may promote cell migration and invasion by promoting EMT. To elucidate the detailed regulatory mechanism, miR-92a-3p is screened and identified as a negative regulatory small RNA targeting NOV, and further experimental validation demonstrates that miR-92a-3p contributes to NOV-mediated migration and invasion of ICC via the Notch signaling pathway. Our study reveals that NOV may be a potential target for diagnosing and treating ICC, which will provide experimental data and molecular theoretical foundation for cancer treatment, particularly for future precision medicine.
Keywords: NOV/CCN3; cell migration; intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; invasion; miR-92a-3p.