Abstract
The identification of microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) has enabled the improved understanding of the carcinogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs comprised of 19-24 nucleotides that regulate the expression of target genes. In the present study, miR-138 was demonstrated to be downregulated in human HCC tissues and cell lines. Restoration of miR-138 expression repressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells. Furthermore, specificity protein 1 (SP1) was identified as a target gene of miR-138 in HCC using bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter assay, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. Knockdown of SP1 produced similar suppressive effects to those induced by miR-138 overexpression in HCC cells. These results indicate that miR-138 targeted SP1 to repress the growth, migration and invasion of HCC cells, and may therefore represent a therapeutic target in human HCC.