Abstract
Aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression is a central hallmark of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and identification of the mechanisms underlying the miRNA actions should provide invaluable resource for revealing the molecular basis of different malignant behaviors in HCC. Previous high-throughput analysis has identified miR-767-5p as a unique miRNA signature of HCC, but the biological relevance and corresponding molecular basis of miR-767-5p in HCC is still in its infancy. The current study was, therefore, designed to elucidate whether changes in miR-767-5p expression levels affect HCC pathogenesis, and to further identify the putative targets. miR-767-5p expression was observed to be upregulated by ~ 3.7-fold in surgical HCC specimens as compared to that in adjacent normal hepatic tissues, and this up-regulation trend correlated well to disease progression and predicted a poor prognosis in HCC patients. Functionally, miR-767-5p-overexpressing cells had a significantly higher proliferative, migratory, and invasive potential, and exhibited an enhanced anchorage-dependent clonogenesis and a tumor formation potential in vivo. Mechanistically, PMP22, a core component of integral membrane glycoprotein of peripheral nervous system myelin, was further identified as a direct down-stream target of miR-767-5p in HCC cells. Conversely, stable ectopic expression of PMP22 abrogated the promoting effects of miR-767-5p on HCC aggressive phenotype. Collectively, the available data suggest that as a potent oncomiR, miR-767-5p actions along HCC progression are in part mediated by its function as a posttranscriptional repressor of PMP22 signaling.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cai W, Chen G, Luo Q, Liu J, Guo X, Zhang T, Ma F, Yuan L, Li B, Cai J (2017) PMP22 regulates self-renewal and chemoresistance of gastric cancer cells. Mol Cancer Ther 16(6):1187–1198. https://doi.org/10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-16-0750
Chen S, Wang L, Yao B, Liu Q, Guo C (2019a) miR-1307-3p promotes tumor growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by repressing DAB2 interacting protein. Biomed Pharmacother 117:109055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2019.109055
Chen S, Yang C, Sun C, Sun Y, Yang Z, Cheng S, Zhuge B (2019b) miR-21-5p suppressed the sensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells to cisplatin by targeting FASLG. DNA Cell Biol 38(8):865–873. https://doi.org/10.1089/dna.2018.4529
Chen Z, Zhuang W, Wang Z, Xiao W, Don W, Li X, Chen X (2019c) MicroRNA-450b-3p inhibits cell growth by targeting phosphoglycerate kinase 1 in hepatocellular carcinoma. J Cell Biochem 120(11):18805–18815. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.29196
Colecchia A, Schiumerini R, Cucchetti A, Cescon M, Taddia M, Marasco G, Festi D (2014) Prognostic factors for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence. World J Gastroenterol 20(20):5935–5950. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v20.i20.5935
Dong YS, Hou WG, Li Y, Liu DB, Hao GZ, Zhang HF, Li JC, Zhao J, Zhang S, Liang GB, Li W (2016) Unexpected requirement for a binding partner of the syntaxin family in phagocytosis by murine testicular Sertoli cells. Cell Death Differ 23(5):787–800. https://doi.org/10.1038/cdd.2015.139
Feng Y, Zhang L, Wu J, Khadka B, Fang Z, Gu J, Tang B, Xiao R, Pan G, Liu J (2019) CircRNA circ_0000190 inhibits the progression of multiple myeloma through modulating miR-767-5p/MAPK4 pathway. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 38(1):54. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13046-019-1071-9
Guo Y, Yao B, Zhu Q, Xiao Z, Hu L, Liu X, Li L, Wang J, Xu Q, Yang L, Huang D (2019) MicroRNA-301b-3p contributes to tumour growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma by repressing vestigial like family member 4. J Cell Mol Med 23(8):5037–5047. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcmm.14361
Jiang JF, Lao YC, Yuan BH, Yin J, Liu X, Chen L, Zhong JH (2017) Treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombus: advances and challenges. Oncotarget 8(20):33911–33921. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.15411
Lee JS, Kwak G, Kim HJ, Park HT, Choi BO, Hong YB (2019) miR-381 attenuates peripheral neuropathic phenotype caused by overexpression of PMP22. Exp Neurobiol 28(2):279–288. https://doi.org/10.5607/en.2019.28.2.279
Li J, Kleeff J, Esposito I, Kayed H, Felix K, Giese T, Buchler MW, Friess H (2005) Expression analysis of PMP22/Gas3 in premalignant and malignant pancreatic lesions. J Histochem Cytochem 53(7):885–893. https://doi.org/10.1369/jhc.4A6546.2005
Li W, Wu ZQ, Zhao J, Guo SJ, Li Z, Feng X, Ma L, Zhang JS, Liu XP, Zhang YQ (2011) Transient protection from heat-stress induced apoptotic stimulation by metastasis-associated protein 1 in pachytene spermatocytes. PLoS ONE 6(10):e26013. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0026013
Li J, Parker B, Martyn C, Natarajan C, Guo J (2013) The PMP22 gene and its related diseases. Mol Neurobiol 47(2):673–698. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-012-8370-x
Li Z, Biswas S, Liang B, Zou X, Shan L, Li Y, Fang R, Niu J (2016) Integrin beta6 serves as an immunohistochemical marker for lymph node metastasis and promotes cell invasiveness in cholangiocarcinoma. Sci Rep 6:30081. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep30081
Li X, Jiang H, Xiao L, Wang S, Zheng J (2017) miR-200bc/429 inhibits osteosarcoma cell proliferation and invasion by targeting PMP22. Med Sci Monit 23:1001–1008. https://doi.org/10.12659/msm.900084
Liu S, Chen Z (2015) The functional role of PMP22 gene in the proliferation and invasion of osteosarcoma. Med Sci Monit 21:1976–1982. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.893430
Ning P, Zhong JG, Jiang F, Zhang Y, Zhao J, Tian F, Li W (2016) Role of protein S in castration-resistant prostate cancer-like cells. Endocr Relat Cancer 23(8):595–607. https://doi.org/10.1530/ERC-16-0126
Plaisier CL, Pan M, Baliga NS (2012) A miRNA-regulatory network explains how dysregulated miRNAs perturb oncogenic processes across diverse cancers. Genome Res 22(11):2302–2314. https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.133991.111
Schmid K, Wang X, Haitel A, Sieghart W, Peck-Radosavljevic M, Bodingbauer M, Rasoul-Rockenschaub S, Wrba F (2007) KiSS-1 overexpression as an independent prognostic marker in hepatocellular carcinoma: an immunohistochemical study. Virchows Arch 450(2):143–149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-006-0352-9
Tawk M, Makoukji J, Belle M, Fonte C, Trousson A, Hawkins T, Li H, Ghandour S, Schumacher M, Massaad C (2011) Wnt/beta-catenin signaling is an essential and direct driver of myelin gene expression and myelinogenesis. J Neurosci 31(10):3729–3742. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4270-10.2011
Taylor ST, Menzel R (1995) The creation of a camptothecin-sensitive Escherichia coli based on the expression of the human topoisomerase I. Gene 167(1–2):69–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1119(95)00608-7
Tong D, Heinze G, Pils D, Wolf A, Singer CF, Concin N, Hofstetter G, Schiebel I, Rudas M, Zeillinger R (2010) Gene expression of PMP22 is an independent prognostic factor for disease-free and overall survival in breast cancer patients. BMC Cancer 10:682. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2407-10-682
Ueno K, Hirata H, Shahryari V, Deng G, Tanaka Y, Tabatabai ZL, Hinoda Y, Dahiya R (2013) microRNA-183 is an oncogene targeting Dkk-3 and SMAD4 in prostate cancer. Br J Cancer 108(8):1659–1667. https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2013.125
Verrier JD, Lau P, Hudson L, Murashov AK, Renne R, Notterpek L (2009) Peripheral myelin protein 22 is regulated post-transcriptionally by miRNA-29a. Glia 57(12):1265–1279. https://doi.org/10.1002/glia.20846
Winslow S, Leandersson K, Larsson C (2013) Regulation of PMP22 mRNA by G3BP1 affects cell proliferation in breast cancer cells. Mol Cancer 12(1):156. https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-4598-12-156
Wu J, Huang WJ, Xi HL, Liu LY, Wang ST, Fan WZ, Peng BG (2019) Tumor-suppressive miR-3650 inhibits tumor metastasis by directly targeting NFASC in hepatocellular carcinoma. Aging (Albany NY) 11(11):3432–3444. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101981
Wulf P, Bernhardt RR, Suter U (1999) Characterization of peripheral myelin protein 22 in zebrafish (zPMP22) suggests an early role in the development of the peripheral nervous system. J Neurosci Res 57(4):467–478. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4547(19990815)57:4%3c467:AID-JNR6%3e3.0.CO;2-3
Xiong Y, Fang JH, Yun JP, Yang J, Zhang Y, Jia WH, Zhuang SM (2010) Effects of microRNA-29 on apoptosis, tumorigenicity, and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology 51(3):836–845. https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.23380
Xu FF, Xie WF, Zha GQ, Chen HW, Deng L (2017) MiR-520f promotes cell aggressiveness by regulating fibroblast growth factor 16 in hepatocellular carcinoma. Oncotarget 8(65):109546–109558. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.22726
Xu XF, Xing H, Han J, Li ZL, Lau WY, Zhou YH, Gu WM, Wang H, Chen TH, Zeng YY, Li C, Wu MC, Shen F, Yang T (2018) Risk factors, patterns, and outcomes of late recurrence after liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter study from China. JAMA Surg 154(3):209–217. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2018.4334
Yan W, Li R, Liu Y, Yang P, Wang Z, Zhang C, Bao Z, Zhang W, You Y, Jiang T (2014) MicroRNA expression patterns in the malignant progression of gliomas and a 5-microRNA signature for prognosis. Oncotarget 5(24):12908–12915. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.2679
Yang LY, Fang F, Ou DP, Wu W, Zeng ZJ, Wu F (2009) Solitary large hepatocellular carcinoma: a specific subtype of hepatocellular carcinoma with good outcome after hepatic resection. Ann Surg 249(1):118–123. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0b013e3181904988
Yang H, Fang F, Chang R, Yang L (2013) MicroRNA-140-5p suppresses tumor growth and metastasis by targeting transforming growth factor beta receptor 1 and fibroblast growth factor 9 in hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology 58(1):205–217. https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.26315
Zhang C, Lai JH, Hu B, Zhang S, Zhao J, Li W (2014) A chromatin modifier regulates Sertoli cell response to mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) via tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP2) signaling. Biochim Biophys Acta 1839(11):1170–1182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbagrm.2014.08.006
Zhang LL, Ma J, Yang B, Zhao J, Yan BY, Zhang YQ, Li W (2018) Interference with lactate metabolism by mmu-miR-320-3p via negatively regulating GLUT3 signaling in mouse Sertoli cells. Cell Death Dis 9(10):964. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-018-0958-2
Zhao G, Li Y, Wang T (2017) Potentiation of docetaxel sensitivity by miR-638 via regulation of STARD10 pathway in human breast cancer cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 487(2):255–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.04.045
Acknowledgements
The authors received no specific funding for this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Study design: ZL and WL. Study conduct: ZL, GZ, WY, MF, and MX. Data collection: ZL, GZ, WY, MF, MX, and WL. Data analysis: ZL and WL. Data interpretation: ZL and WL. Drafting and submission of manuscript: ZL and WL.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest, financial, or otherwise.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
418_2020_1878_MOESM2_ESM.tif
Immunoblot stained with an anti-PMP22 antibody or a preabsorbed serum in HepG2 cell extracts, or with an anti-PMP22 antibody in mouse tissue extracts (positive control), demonstrating the specificity of the anti-PMP22 antibody (TIF 3743 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, L., Geng, Z., Wan, Y. et al. Functional analysis of miR-767-5p during the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and the clinical relevance of its dysregulation. Histochem Cell Biol 154, 231–243 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-020-01878-6
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-020-01878-6