Liquiritigenin suppresses gastric cancer cells through regulating miR-4534 to target phosphatase and tensin homolog

Gastrointestinal tumors are highly malignant tumors and liquiritigenin can be used for prevention and development of chronic diseases related to inflammation. But its role in gastric cancer cells is elusive. Gastric cancer cells were treated with liquiritigenin for 48 hours. After treatment, assays were conducted to assess cell activity. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis determined the expression of miR-4534 and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay explored the downstream target genes of miR-4534. Transfection of anti-miR-4534 was carried out to investigate its role in gastric cancer cell growth and proliferation. Liquiritigenin treatment resulted in increased miR-4534 expression in gastric cancer when suppressing cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. PTEN was a target of miR-4534. Interestingly, miR-4534 inhibitor abrogated the inhibitory effect of liquiritigenin on cancer cell growth, enhancing cell proliferation and facilitating cell cycle ( P < 0.05). In conclusion, liquiritigenin inhibit gastric cancer cell growth through upregulation of miR-4534 to regulate PTEN expression. Inhibiting the expression of miR-4534 can significantly promote gastric cancer progression, thereby reversing the anticancer effect of liquiritigenin.