Aging-US published "MiR-513b-5p represses autophagy during the malignant progression of hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting PIK3R3" which reported MiR-513b-5p repressed liver cancer cell proliferation, migration/invasion, and induced apoptosis in vitro.

Crucially, miR-513b-5p attenuated tumour growth of liver cancer cells in vivo.

In the mechanical investigation, the authors identified that PIK3R3 mRNA 3′UTR was targeted by miR-513b-5p and miR-513b-5p suppressed PIK3R3 expression.

PIK3R3 overexpression partly reversed miR-513b-5p-mediated autophagy, proliferation, and apoptosis of liver cancer cells.

Consequently, they concluded in their Aging-US Research Output that miR-513b-5p repressed autophagy during the malignant progression of HCC by targeting PIK3R3. MiR-513b-5p may be applied as a therapeutic target for HCC.

Dr. Rongjun Nie from The Guangxi Medical University said, "Liver cancer is a prevalent malignancy and the principal reason for tumour mortality globally, in which hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) depicts 70–85% of the entire liver carcinoma weight."

As the previous studies, autophagy is a crucial process during liver cancer development and a potential therapeutic target for liver cancer therapy, but the mechanisms are poorly understood.

PIK3R3 acts as an oncogene of various cancers, containing glioma, lung cancer, and gastric cancer.

As several miRNAs are involved in the modulation of autophagy in HCC and based on the crucial role of miR-513b-5p in cancer development, the authors selected miR-513b-5p as an example to evaluate its function in autophagy during liver cancer progression.

In the present study, they were interested in the miR-513b-5p function in the modulation of autophagy during liver cancer progression.

They demonstrated that miR-513b-5p attenuated autophagy during the malignant progression of liver cancer by targeting PIK3R3.

The Nie Research Team concluded in their study, "miR-513b-5p repressed autophagy during the malignant progression of HCC by targeting PIK3R3. MiR-513b-5p may be applied as a therapeutic target for HCC."

Source: Impact Journals LLC