Abstract: Objective To investigate the mechanism for microRNA-218 (miR-218) dampening E2F2 gene expression to inhibit proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods HCC cell lines (HepG2, Huh7, MHCC.97H and BEL.7402) and normal hepatocyte cell line L02 were obtained from cell bank, which were subjected for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunoblot analysis, cell proliferation and colony formation test, cell cycle analysis and relevant statistics analysis. Results The miR-218 level was down-regulated in cancer cells (P<0.05). The growth curve of MTT indicated that proliferative capacity of cells was significantly reduced in miR-218-overexpressed cells (Huh7: P=0.001; MHCC.97: P=0.013). These results revealed that E2F2 was the direct target of miR-218. In comparison to control group of L02, the relative mRNA of E2F2 in Huh7 and MHCC.97 cell lines transfected with the stimulant of miR-218 was significantly down-regulated (P<0.05). Conclusion miR-218 can directly act on the 3' untranslated region of E2F2 gene to inhibit the development of HCC.

Key words: MicroRNA-218, Hepatocellular carcinoma, E2F2, Cell proliferation