MicroRNAs(miRNAs) are small,noncoding RNAs which can often act as an oncogene or a tumor suppressor.Several miRNAs are associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).We demonstrated that miR-125b significantly suppresses HCC cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis by inhibiting the gene expression of the anti-apoptotic protein,Bcl-2.Bioinformatic analysis indicated that the 3'UTR of Bcl-2 has binding sites for miR-125b.Luciferase reporter assay confirmed the ability of miR-125b to dramatically suppress Bcl-2 transcription,suggesting that Bcl-2 is a target gene for miR-125b.We concluded that miR-125b acts as a tumor suppressor in hepatic tumor development by targeting Bcl-2 and inducing cancer cell apoptosis.
