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microRNAs (miRNAs) have been determined to be associated with cancer progression and metastasis. Mir-139 is located on 11q13.4 and exhibits anti-oncogenic and anti-metastatic activity in human cancers. It is downregulated in various malignant tumor types. In the present study, the potential functions and targets of miR-139 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were explored. Using a combinational analysis of four miRNA target prediction tools and biological experiments, it was determined that Topoisomerase I (TOP1) is a direct target of miR-139 in HCC. Several traditional topoisomerase inhibitors have demonstrated anticancer activity, but their side effects outnumbered their anticancer potential. The present study determined that overexpression of miR-139 significantly inhibits HCC cell proliferation (P

Objective To determine the role of miR-139 in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to preliminarily clarify the underlying mechanism. Methods CCK-8 assay was performed to investigate the effect of miR-139 on HCC cell proliferation. Four databases, TargetScan, MiRanda, Clip-seq and miRDB, in combination with literature review, were used to predict the downstream pathways and specifically the potential targets of miR-139. The predicted targets were then verified by Western blot analysis and luciferase reporter assay. Results CCK-8 assay confirmed that miR-139 suppressed the proliferation of HCC cells. By the comparisons between the four databases and the review of literatures, a total of five genes (ICK, BTG3, DCBLD2, EIF4G2 and HNRNPF) were predicted as potential targets of miR-139. Western blot and luciferase reporter assay validated that miR-139 could directly inhibit the expression of BTG3 in HCC cells. Conclusion miR-139 can repress the proliferation of HCC cells via directly inhibiting the expression of BTG3.