Effect of Mir-122 on Human Cholangiocarcinoma Proliferation, Invasion, and Apoptosis Through P53 Expression

BACKGROUND Bile duct carcinoma is a common digestive tract tumor with high morbidity and mortality. As a kind of important non-coding RNA, microRNA (miR) plays an important role in post-transcriptional regulation. MiR-122 is the most abundant miR in the liver. Multiple studies have shown that miR-122 level is reduced in a variety of liver tumors and can be used as a specific marker for liver injury. P53 is a classic tumor suppressor gene that can induce tumor cell apoptosis through various pathways. Whether miR-122 affects p53 in bile duct carcinoma still needs investigation. MATERIAL AND METHODS miR inhibitor or mimics was transfected to bile duct carcinoma cells to evaluate its function on proliferation, invasion, apoptosis, and p53 expression. RESULTS MiR-122 overexpression reduced cell invasion and migration ability, and inhibited cell apoptosis and p53 expression. Inhibiting miR-122 caused the opposite results. CONCLUSIONS Upregulating miR-122 can suppress bile duct carcinoma cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. MiR-122 could be used as a target for bile duct carcinoma treatment, which provides a new strategy for cholangiocarcinoma patients.