Melatonin is the main pineal hormone that relays light/dark-cycle information to the circadian system. Recent studies have examined the intrinsic antitumor activity of melatonin in various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the primary life-threatening malignancy in both sexes in Taiwan. However, the detailed regulatory mechanisms underlying melatonin's anti-HCC activity remain incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the mechanisms by which the anti-HCC activity of melatonin is regulated. Human hepatoma cell lines were treated with 1 and 2 mM melatonin, and functional assays were used to dissect melatonin's antitumor effect in HCC; small-RNA sequencing was performed to identify the microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in the anti-HCC activity of melatonin; and quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to elucidate how miRNAs regulate melatonin-mediated HCC suppression. Melatonin treatment at both doses strongly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion capacities of Huh7 and HepG2 cell lines, and melatonin treatment markedly induced the expression of the miRNA let7i-3p in cells. Notably, transfection of cells with a let7i-3p mimic drastically reduced RAF1 expression and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling downstream from RAF1, and rescue-assay results demonstrated that melatonin inhibited HCC progression by modulating let7i-3p-mediated RAF1 suppression. Our findings support the view that melatonin treatment holds considerable promise as a therapy for HCC.
Keywords: RAF1; hepatocellular carcinoma; melatonin; miRNA let7i-3p.