MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are strongly associated to the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which presents a high potential for diagnosis and treatment; however, the role of miRNAs is still largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression and the biological role of miRNA (miR)-206 in the development of HCC, and to identify the underlying molecular mechanism. Results from this study show that miR-206 was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. It was observed that low expression of miR-206 was linked to advanced TNM stage, tumor nodularity and venous infiltration in patients with HCC; low miR-206 expression was associated with shorter survival times. miR-206 overexpression using miR-206 mimics notably decreased the proliferative ability and increased apoptosis of MHCC97-H and HCCLM3 HCC cell lines. Overexpression of miR-206 suppressed invasiveness associated with reduced epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Moreover, the c-Met oncogene, which is upregulated in HCC tissues, was negatively associated with the expression of miR-206. Notably, it was shown that miR-206 may exert its antitumor effect through suppressing c-Met/Akt/mTOR signaling. Low expression of miR-206 was shown to be regulated by lncRNA MALAT1 in HCC. Collectively, this study presented evidence that miR-206 was controlled by lncRNA MALAT1 and partially suppressed the proliferation and invasion of HCC through the c-Met/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. According to these results, understanding MALAT1/miR-206-dependent regulation may lead to potential approaches for diagnosis and prospective treatment of HCC.
Keywords: c-Met/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway; hepatocellular carcinoma; lncRNA MALAT1; microRNA-206.
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