MicroRNA-34a-5p enhances sensitivity to chemotherapy by targeting AXL in hepatocellular carcinoma MHCC-97L cells

Mature microRNA (miRNA) 34a-5p, which is a well-known tumor suppressor in hepatitis virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), plays an important role in cell processes, such as cell proliferation and apoptosis, and is therefore an optimal biomarker for future clinical use. However, the role of miRNA-34a-5p in chemoresistance has yet to be identified. In the present study, the expression of miRNA-34a-5p was assessed by an in situ hybridization assay in HCC tissues and was found to be significantly decreased compared with the pericarcinomatous areas of the tissue specimens, which consisted of samples obtained from 114 patients with HCC. High expression of miRNA-34a-5p was found to be associated with a favorable overall survival time in HCC patients. Functional tests performed by transfecting miRNA-34a-5p mimics or inhibitors into MHCC-97L cells illustrated that miRNA-34a-5p inhibited proliferation, elevated apoptosis and decreased chemoresistance to cisplatin in HCC cells. AXL is the direct target of miRNA-34a-5p, as confirmed by sequence analysis and luciferase assay. Transfection of the cells with small interfering RNA for AXL (siAXL) increased the apoptosis ratio of the MHCC-97L cell line. Transfection with siAXL led to similar biological behaviors in the MHCC-97L cells to those induced by ectopic expression of miRNA-34a-5p. Thus, it was concluded that miRNA-34a-5p enhanced the sensitivity of the cells to chemotherapy by targeting AXL in hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, low expression of miRNA-34a-5p in HCC tissues yielded an unfavorable prognosis for patients with HCC that received radical surgery, due to the promotion of proliferation and an increase in chemoresistance in HCC cells.