MicroRNA-644a promotes apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by downregulating the expression of heat shock factor 1

In this study, we investigated the role of microRNA-644a (miR-644a) in the growth and survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. MiR-644a levels were lower in HCC tissues than in adjacent peri-cancerous tissues (n = 135). MiR-644a expression was inversely correlated with heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) expression, tumour diameter and TNM stage. Moreover, HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cell lines showed lower miR-644a expression than normal L-O2 hepatocytes. MiR-644a overexpression in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells increased apoptosis by downregulating HSF1. Dual luciferase reporter assays confirmed the presence of a miR-644a binding site in the 3’-untranslated region (3’-UTR) of HSF1. Xenograft tumours derived from SMMC-7721 cells transfected with a miR-664a mimic showed less growth than tumours derived from untransfected controls. Protein chip analysis revealed that miR-644a-overexpressing SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells strongly expressed pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins, such as BID, BAD, BIM, SMAC, Apaf-1 and cleaved caspases-3 and -9. These findings suggest miR-644a promotes apoptosis in HCC cells by inhibiting HSF1. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12964-018-0244-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.