MLK3 is a newly identified microRNA-520b target that regulates liver cancer cell migration.

Abstract

The roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in liver cancer have attracted much attention in recent years. In this study, we demonstrate that miR-520b is downregulated in MHCC-97H cells, a liver cancer cell line with high potential of metastasis, compared with MHCC-97L cells which has a low potential of metastasis. Furthermore, the enhanced expression of miR-520b could inhibit liver cancer cell migration, while silencing its expression resulted in increased migration. Mixed lineage kinase 3 (MLK3) was identified as a direct and functional new target of miR-520b. This regulation was also confirmed by luciferase reporter assays. In addition, our results showed that overexpression of the MLK3 expression partially reversed the effect of miR-520b on liver cancer cell migration, indicating that MLK3 contributes to the migration in liver cancer. The newly identified miR-520b/MLK3 axis partially elucidates the molecular mechanism of liver cancer cell migration and represents a new potential therapeutic target for liver cancer treatment.