MicroRNA-3653 inhibits the growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting ITGB1

microRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the expression and biological function of miR-3653 in HCC remain unknown. The present study demonstrated that miR-3653 expression was significantly decreased in HCC tissues and cells using qRT-PCR. A decreased miR-3653 level was associated with unfavorable clinical features and poor prognosis of HCC patients. MTT, BrdU, Transwell and western blot assays showed that miR-3653 overexpression inhibited the growth, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of HCCLM3 cells while its knockdown promoted the growth and metastatic ability of Hep3B cells. In vivo experiments showed that miR-3653 overexpression inhibited the subcutaneous and the lung metastasis of HCCLM3 cells in nude mice. Mechanistically, integrin-β1 (ITGB1) was identified to be the downstream target of miR-3653 in HCC. ITGB1 overexpression reversed the inhibitory effects of miR-3653 on the growth, metastasis and EMT of HCCLM3 cells.