Restoration of miR-20a expression suppresses cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in HepG2 cells

Guang Shun Chen, Ning Zhou, Jie-Qun Li, Ting Li, Zhong-Qiang Zhang, Zhong-Zhou SiDepartment of Organ Transplantation and General Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, People’s Republic of China Objective: To study microRNA (miR)-20a expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its effects on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HepG2.Methods: The real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of miR-20a in HCC tissue and normal tissue, as well as in HCC cell lines and normal liver cells. miR-20a mimic and miR negative control (NC) were transfected into HepG2 cells. MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide) assay was used to detect cell proliferation. Annexin fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide assay was run to examine the early apoptosis of cells. Transwell chamber assay was carried out to investigate the cell invasion and migration abilities.Results: miR-20a was lowly expressed both in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines. After transfection of exogenous miR-20 mimics, miR-20a expression in HepG2 cells was significantly increased by 61.29% compared to the blank group (P