miR-107 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation by targeting Axin2

Background: A large number of studies demonstrated that microRNAs play important roles in the progression and development of human cancers. However, the expression level of miR-107 and its biological function in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Method: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to evaluate the expression level of miR-107 in HCC tissues and cell lines. Then, we explored the function of miR-107 to determine its potential roles on HCC cell proliferation in vitro. Luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm the target gene of miR-107, and the results were validated in cell lines. Results: miR-107 was significantly up-regulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. The enforced expression of miR-107 was able to promote cell proliferation in HepG2 cells. At the molecular level, our results suggested that expression of Axin2 was negatively regulated by miR-107. Conclusion: Our observations suggested that miR-107 could promote HCC cells proliferation via targeting Axin2 and might represent a potential therapeutic target for HCC.