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Clinical significance of serum miR-768-3p in HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma and its potential mechanism

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to reveal the clinical diagnostic and prognostic value of miR-768-3p in HBV-related HCC and to investigate its effect on the biological function of HCC. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression level of miR-768-3p in subjects’ serum. The receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) evaluated the diagnostic value of miR-768-3p in patients. A Chi-square test was used to analyze the relationship between miR-768-3p and clinical data of patients. Kaplan–Meier survival and Cox regression analysis assessed the prognostic value of miR-768-3p in HCC. Finally, CCK-8 and Transwell assays were used to demonstrate the effect of miR-768-3p on HBV-related HCC function. Serum miR-768-3p was significantly lower in HCC patients than in healthy controls and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. ROC curve suggested that serum miR-768-3p has an important diagnostic value for HBV-related HCC and can significantly differentiate HCC patients from healthy controls, and it can also diagnose HCC patients from CHB patients. Cox analysis confirmed that miR-768-3p was an independent risk factor. Low expression of miR-768-3p was associated with Tumor, Node, Metastasis stage, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage, and poor prognosis in HCC patients. Finally, cell function experiments confirmed that high expression of miR-768-3p could inhibit cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. All experiments confirmed that miR-768-3p can inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HBV-related HCC cells, and the low expression of miR-768-3p can be used as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for HBV-related HCC.

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Abbreviations

HCC:

Hepatocellular carcinoma

HBV:

Hepatitis B virus

RFA:

Radiofrequency ablation

AFP:

Alpha-fetoprotein

miRNA:

MicroRNA

CHB:

Chronic hepatitis B

BCLC:

Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer

FBS:

Fetal bovine serum

qRT-PCR:

Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR

SD:

Standard deviation

ROC:

Receiver operating characteristic

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infectious Diseases, Caoxian People’s Hospital, Heze, 274400, Shandong, China

    Chunyu Cao

  2. Department of Gastroenterology, Caoxian People’s Hospital, No. 1, Fuminda Road, Heze, 274400, Shandong Province, China

    Changjiang Wang

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  1. Chunyu Cao
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Correspondence to Changjiang Wang.

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Cao, C., Wang, C. Clinical significance of serum miR-768-3p in HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma and its potential mechanism. Clin Exp Med 20, 569–576 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10238-020-00646-z

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