title: miR-26a-5p suppresses tumor metastasis by regulating EMT and is associated with prognosis in HCC.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the role of miR-26a-5p in tumor invasion and metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated miR-26a-5p expression in HCC tissues by quantitative PCR and then analyzed its clinical significance using a Cox regression model. Transwell and nude mouse models were used to examine tumor metastasis in vitro and in vivo, respectively. The relationship between miR-26a-5p and epithelial-mesenchymal transition was also investigated by q-PCR and western blot.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Strong downregulation of miR-26a-5p was observed in tumor tissues compared to paired adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, patients with low miR-26a-5p expression had a significantly poorer prognosis than those with high expression. The multivariate analysis indicated that miR-26a-5p expression was an independent prognostic indicator. The experimental transwell model and athymic mouse model revealed that miR-26a-5p depressed tumor metastasis in vitro and in vivo, respectively. In addition, the decreased miR-26a-5p level observed in HCC was associated with reduced E-cadherin expression and upregulation of vimentin, which affects the molecular mechanism of EMT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Downregulation of miR-26a-5p promotes tumor metastasis by targeting EMT and influences the prognosis of HCC patients. Therefore, miR-26a-5p has potential as a new biomarker and therapeutic target.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Donghu Road 169, 430071, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Donghu Road 169, 430071, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Donghu Road 169, 430071, Wuhan, People's Republic of China. guotaosci@126.com.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D064593:Heterografts; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; C528163:MIRN26 microRNA, human
keywords: EMT; Prognosis; Tumor metastasis; miR-26a-5p