Expression and Diagnostic Value of miR-497 and miR-1246 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Serum microRNAs (miRNAs) may serve as biomarkers in various cancers. Our study aims to explore the roles of miR-497 and miR-1246 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: The expression levels of miR-497 and miR-1246 were measured by RT-PCR. A correlation analysis was conducted between the expression levels of miR-497 and miR-1246 and clinicopathological characteristics of patients. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy in HCC. In addition, bioinformatics tools were also utilized to predict the potential targets of miR-497 and miR-1246. RESULTS: The expression level of miR-497 in HCC was significantly down-regulated compared with the control group while the miR-1246 revealed a significantly higher expression level in HCC. There was a significant correlation demonstrated between the expression levels of miR-497 and miR-1246 in preoperative serum of HCC and the differentiation degree, Tumor Node Metastasis (TNM) classification, and metastasis. The expression levels of serum miR-497 and miR-1246 were significantly associated with the diagnosis, prognosis, and overall survival rate of patients with HCC. Moreover, the potential target genes of miR-497 in HCC include ARL2, UBE2Q1, PHF19, APLN, CHEK1, CASK, SUCO, CCNE1, and KIF23. The low expression of these nine genes is associated with a better prognosis of HCC patients. AUTS2 is a novel target gene of miR-1246, and its low expression is significantly related to the low overall survival rate of HCC patients. CONCLUSIONS: miR-497 and miR-1246 are possibly involved in the progression of HCC by regulating target genes, respectively, and could serve as biomarkers in HCC.