Upregulation of microRNA miR-652-3p is a prognostic risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma and regulates cell proliferation, migration, and invasion

Figures & data

Table 1. Correlation between miR-652-3p expression levels and clinical features in HCC patients

Parameters	Cases No. (n = 126)	miR-625-3p expression		P
		Low (n = 57)	High (n = 69)
Age (years)				0.858
<60	62	29	33
≥60	64	28	36
Gender				0.595
Male	65	31	34
Female	61	26	35
Tumor size (cm)				0.721
<5	69	30	39
≥5	57	27	30
Smoking status
No	71	35	36	0.367
Yes	55	22	33
Alcohol intake
No	70	34	36	0.472
Yes	56	23	33
AFP (ng/ml)				0.477
<400	66	32	34
≥400	60	25	35
Cirrhosis
Yes	64	30	34	0.724
No	62	27	35
Clinical TNM stage				0.020
I–II	58	33	25
III–IV	68	24	44
Differentiation
Well and moderate	61	34	27	0.031
Poor and others	65	23	42

AFP, alpha-fetoprotein.

Figure 1. RT-qPCR assay discovered the levels of miR-652-3p in HCC tissues and cells. a. The levels of miR-652-3p were significantly increased in HCC tissues (***P < 0.001). b. Expression of miR-652-3p in HCC and human normal hepatocytes. Compared with normal cells, miR-652-3p was elevated in HCC cells (**P < 0.01)

Table 2. Multivariate Cox analysis of miR-652-3p and clinical parameters with overall survival

Characteristics	Multivariate analysis
	HR	95%CI	P
miR-1183	3.249	1.323–7.979	0.010
Age	0.442	0.308–1.673	0.443
Gender	1.086	0.445–2.595	0.853
Tumor size	0.775	0.333–1.803	0.554
Smoking status	0.647	0.299–1.399	0.268
Alcohol intake	0.697	0.317–1.533	0.370
AFP	0.560	0.238–1.317	0.184
Cirrhosis	0.406	0.168–0.981	0.045
Clinical stage	2.708	1.050–6.982	0.039
Differentiation	2.288	0.997–5.253	0.051

Figure 2. Compared with HCC patients with low miR-652-3p expression, the prognosis of patients with high miR-652-3p expression was not ideal (log-rank P = 0.007)

Figure 3. The level of miR-652-3p regulates cell proliferation of HCC cells. a. Expression level of miR-652-3p was detected after transfection of miR-652-3p mimics and inhibitors. (**P < 0.01). b. CCK-8 assay to detect the regulation of miR-652-3p on proliferation (*P < 0.05). c. Colony formation assay was performed to accessed the regulation of miR-652-3p on colony forming ability (***P < 0.001, compared to mimic NC; ### P < 0.001, compared to inhibitor NC)

Figure 4. Wound healing and Transwell assay was used to detect cell migration and invasion. a. Wound healing assay was performed to explore the migration of Hep3B. b. Wound healing assay was performed to explore the migration of Huh-7. c. Representative images of miR-652-3p affecting cell migration and statistical results on the number of cell migration. d. Representative images of miR-652-3p affecting cell invasion and statistical results on the number of cell migration (***P < 0.001, compared to mimic NC; ### P < 0.001, compared to inhibitor NC)

Data availability statement

The corresponding author can provide the data of this study if reasonable.