MicroRNA-125b suppresses the migration and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by targeting transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNA molecules that serve an important function in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. The present study investigated the roles and mechanisms of miRNA-125b (miR-125b) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). miR-125b was significantly downregulated in the examined HCC tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of miR-125b reduced HCC cell migration and invasion. By contrast, inhibition of miR-125b expression significantly accelerated HCC cell migration and invasion. In addition, the present study identified transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) as a functional downstream target of miR-125b. Furthermore, overexpression of TAZ impaired miR-125b-induced inhibition of invasion in HCC cells. The current study demonstrated that miR-125b may be involved in the tumorigenesis of HCC at least in part by the suppression of TAZ.