MiR-616 plays oncogenic role in hepatocellular carcinoma progression through suppressing PTEN expression and activating PI3K/AKT pathway

Given their regulatory roles in gene expression, microRNAs play an important role in tumorigenesis. The current study aimed to explore the function and the related mechanisms of in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The expression of was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Chi-square test was applied to estimate the association of with clinical characteristics of HCC patients. Cell transfection was performed by Lipofectamine 2000. MTT assay was used to detect cell proliferation, whereas cell motility was estimated using Transwell assay. The protein expression was detected using western blot. was significantly up-regulated in HCC tissues and cells (