Over-expression of microRNA-25 promotes cell proliferation and induces cell apoptosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Backgrounds: microRNAs (miRNAs) have been confirmed to play an important role in the occurrence and development of cancers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of miR-25 on the cell growth of HCC and its prognostic role. Methods: The expression of miR-25 was detected by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. The relationship between miR-25 expression and clinical factors was also analyzed. The proliferation and apoptosis assay were conducted to compare the influences of miR-25 expression on cell growth. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate the overall survival of patients with different miR-25 expression. The prognostic value was estimated via Cox regression analysis. Results: miR-25 was over-expression in HCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. And its expression was influenced by AFP significantly. The cell proliferation of HCC cells was promoted by miR-25 while the apoptosis of it was inhibited. Patients with high miR-25 expression had a shorter overall survival than those with low expression through Kaplan-Meier analysis. Cox regression analysis showed high expression of miR-25 was closely related to the prognosis of HCC. Conclusions: miR-25 was increased in HCC patients and it could promote cell proliferation as well as suppress cell apoptosis. Moreover, it might serve as an independent marker in the prognosis of HCC.