MiR-194 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma through negative regulation of CADM1

Aberrant expression of microRNAs may contribute to the initiation and progression of various types of human cancer and they may also constitute biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, the specific function of miR-194 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the potential mechanism of its involvement in HCC were unclear. In the present study, we found that miR-194 inhibited CADM1 protein level expression by inhibiting mRNA translation of CADM1; the expression of CADM1 was low in liver cancer cells and tumor tissues, and the high expression of miR-194 was closely related to HCC. MiR-194 promoted proliferation, invasion, migration, and cell cycle progression of HCC cells, and such promotion effect was inhibited by CADM1. In addition, miR-194 may play a tumor-promoting action in a HCC xenograft tumor model. These results suggested that miR-194 may promote the occurrence and development of HCC by inhibiting CADM1. Therefore, miR-194 may be a promising novel therapy for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.