Reduced expression of miR-30c-5p promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by targeting RAB32

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains among the most lethal of human cancers, despite recent advances in modern medicine. miR-30c-5p is frequently dysregulated in different diseases. However, the effects and the underlying mechanism of miR-30c-5p in HCC are still elusive. Here, we show that miR-30c-5p is downregulated in HCC and significantly associated with survival and tumor size in patients with HCC. We demonstrate that aberrant miR-30c-5p markedly affects HCC cell proliferation and migration. Further experiments show that RAB32 is an essential target of miR-30c-5p in HCC. These studies highlight an important role of miR-30c-5p in growth and invasion of HCC and indicate that the miR-30c-5p-RAB32 axis is an important underlying mechanism.