MiR-98 modulates macrophage polarization and suppresses the effects of tumor-associated macrophages on promoting invasion and epithelial–mesenchymal transition of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are generally recognized as a promoter of tumor progression. miR-98 has been shown to suppress the proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Here, we aim to investigate the role of miR-98-mediated macrophage polarization in HCC progression. METHODS: Human blood monocytes were isolated from healthy male donors and incubated with culture medium collected from HepG2 cells for 7 days. The phenotype of the macrophages was detected. The protein expression was detected by Western blot. Levels of cytokines secreted in culture medium were measured using the specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. To explore the role of miR-98 in HCC-conditioned TAMs, HCC cells HepG2 and SMMC7721 were cultured with conditioned medium from HCC-conditioned TAMs that had been transfected with miR-98 mimic/inhibitor. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion assays were performed. RESULTS: HCC-conditioned TAMs possessed M2-like phenotype, including increased protein expression of CD163 and TNF-α(low), IL-1β(low), TGF-β(high) and IL-10(high) phenotype. HCC-conditioned TAMs also promoted proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT of HepG2 and SMMC7721 cells. Furthermore, miR-98 modulated macrophage polarization from M2 to M1 in HCC-conditioned TAMs, as evidenced by the alteration of M1- or M2-related cytokines. Moreover, miR-98 mimic significantly suppressed the HCC-conditioned TAMs-mediated promotion of cell migration, invasion and EMT in HepG2 and SMMC7721 cells compared with negative control, whereas miR-98 inhibitor exerted reversed effects. CONCLUSIONS: miR-98 may play a vital role in regulating macrophage polarization, thereby suppressing the TAMs-mediated promotion of invasion and EMT in HCC. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12935-018-0590-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.