Downregulation of miR-432 activates Wnt/β-catenin signaling and promotes human hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation

Sustained cell growth and proliferation, one of the hallmarks of cancer, is considered to responsible for cancer-related deaths by disorganizing the balance of growth promotion and growth limitation. Aberrant activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway leads to cell proliferation, growth and survival, and promotes the development of various human tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma. Elucidating the molecular mechanism of this abnormality in hepatocellular carcinoma carcinogenesis may improve diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for this malignancy. Herein, we report that the expression of miR-432 was markedly downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines and tissues, and upregulation of miR-432 inhibited, whereas downregulation of miR-432 enhanced the proliferation and tumorigenicity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, miR-432 directly targeted and suppressed multiple regulators of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade, including LRP6, TRIM29 and Pygo2, which subsequently deactivated Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Finally, miR-432 expression was inversely correlated with three targets in clinical hepatocellular carcinoma samples. These results demonstrated that miR-432 functions as a tumor-suppressive miRNA by suppressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling activation and may represent a therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma.