Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy that is associated with poor prognosis in humans. Despite the development of targeted drugs, overall survival remains a significant challenge, and new therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of miR-552-5p in ferroptosis and the underlying mechanism, as well as to explore novel strategies for HCC treatment. CCK8 assay results showed that the viability of Huh-7 and Hep3B cells decreased significantly after transfection of the miR-552-5p inhibitor. In addition, we found that glutathione levels were depleted, intracellular Fe2+ levels were elevated, and the mean fluorescence intensity of C11-BODIPY was increased after miR-552-5p transfection. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that mitochondria became smaller and mitochondrial membrane intensity was increased in the inhibitor+RSL3 group. Mechanistically, a dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-552-5p interacted with the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) mRNA. qPCR and Western blotting results verified that miR-552-5p negatively regulated ACSL4 expression. In addition, we found that overexpression of ZNF8, which is a transcription factor, reduced intracellular miR-552-5p levels and enhanced sensitivity to ferroptosis. miR-552-5p reduces sensitivity to ferroptosis by targeting the 3' UTR of ACSL4 in HCC. The ZNF8-miR-552-5p-ACSL4 axis is involved in regulation of ferroptosis in HCC, and these findings may provide a new therapeutic target for treatment of HCC.
Keywords: ACSL4; ZNF8; ferroptosis; hepatocellular carcinoma; miR-552-5p.