Abstract:

Objective To investigate the effects of miR-143 on the lipogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells and the molecular mechanism. Methods Expressions of miR-143 of the clinical hepatocarcinoma tissue, para cancer tissue, hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, and normal liver cell line were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The effect of miR-143 on the lipogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells was detected by the oil red O staining assay. The effect of miR-143 on the expression of fatty acid synthase (FASN) of hepatocellular carcinoma cells was detected by the Western blotting. The effects of miR-143 and its inhibitor on the activity of reporter gene vector FASN-CDS were detected by the reporter gene assays. Results The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression of miR-143 of the clinical hepatocarcinoma tissue and HepG2 cells significantly lower than that of the para cancer tissue and Chang liver cell line (P<0.01). The results of oil red O staining assay indicated that miR-143 significantly decreased the lipid formation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The results of qRT-PCR and Western blotting showed that miR-143 significantly decreased mRNA and protein levels of FASN. The results of reporter gene assays indicated that miR-143 in HepG2 cells significantly decreased the activity of FASN-CDS (P<0.01), while the inhibitor of miR-143 significantly increased the activity of FASN-CDS (P<0.01). The inhibitor of miR-143 in HepG2 cells was able to up-regulate the expression of FASN and enhance the lipogenesis. Conclusion MiR-143 can inhibit the lipogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by suppressing the expression of FASN.

Key words: miR-143, hepatoma, lipogenesis, FASN