Mutant ACTB mRNA 3′UTR Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development by Regulating miR-1 and miR-29a

Abstract

In recent years, mounting studies have shown that ACTB is closely related to various tumors. Although ACTB is dysregulated in numerous cancer types, limited data are available on the potential function and mechanism of ACTB in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study evaluated the expression and biological roles of mutant ACTB mRNA 3'UTR in HCC. Transcriptome sequence and qRT-PCR analysis determined that mutant ACTB mRNA 3'UTR was high expression in HCC tissues. Luciferase reporter assay showed that the ACTB mRNA 3'UTR mutations made it easier to interact with miR-1 and miR-29a. Moreover, mutant ACTB mRNA 3'UTR regulated miR-1 and miR-29a degradation via AGO2. Furthermore, mutant ACTB mRNA 3'UTR promoted hepatocellular carcinoma cells migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo by up-regulating miR-1 target gene MET and miR-29a target gene MCL1. In a word, our study demonstrates that 3'UTR of ACTB plays a key role in the tumor growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and highlights the molecular mechanisms of ACTB-involved cancer growth and development.