EXPLORING ROLES OF MIR-885-5P IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most prevalent form of liver cancer, affects a variety of populations with a high impact in Southeast Asian countries, ranking as the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Lack of current effective therapeutics results in a low survival rate and a high recurrence rate. The development of novel, effective therapies required better knowledge of the disease's pathogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were found to play an important role in tumorigenesis, including in HCC. Thus, we compared the expression levels of miRNAs in tumors with normal tissue and in tumor stage III with stage I. Among many miRNAs, hsa-miR-885-5p was selected for investigation. We show that hsa-miR-885-5p is a tumor suppressor in HCC by inhibiting cell proliferation, possibly by suppressing CDK6 expression. Hsa-miR-885-5p may exert its tumor suppressor role by targeting genes involved in cell cycle processes.