miR-1972 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation by targeting GZMH-mediated DNA replication in the cell cycle.

AIM: To understand the regulatory roles of miR-1972 and GZMH in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and explore their potential as therapeutic biomarkers.

METHODS: In vitro verification of the regulation of malignant cell behavior by differential expression of miR-1972 in HCC cells. The GSE113996 dataset was studied using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and differential expressed genes respectively to identify the key prognostic gene GZMH and assess the effect of its differential expression on the prognosis of the patient. Finally, the regulation of GZMH expression by miR-1972 was verified, and the effect of their combination on HCC cell behavior was analyzed.

RESULTS: Inhibition of miR-1972 can reduce cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while overexpression of miR-1972 has the opposite effect in HCC cells. According to the data, a positive prognosis for HCC was linked with higher GZMH expression. Interestingly, miR-1972 was observed to reverse-regulate the expression of GZMH. Besides, the combined regulation of GZMH and miR-1972 has been discovered to affect the cell growth, invasive capacity, and migratory potential of HCC cells, especially the cell cycle arrest in the G2 phase.

CONCLUSIONS: miR-1972 regulates the malignant behavior of HCC cells, especially cell proliferation, by regulating GZMH expression.