Icariin inhibits the proliferation,migration,and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by regulating the lncRNA OIP5-AS1/miR-338-3p pathway
HAO Yaming
GU Xiufeng
LONG Zhixiong
Abstract：Objective To explore the impacts of icariin(ICA)on the proliferation,migration,and invasion of liver cancer cells by adjusting long non-coding RNA(lncRNA)OIP5-AS1/miR-338-3p pathway.Methods MTT assay was used to measure the inhibitory effect of ICA on the proliferation of liver cancer SNU182 cells,and screen for the appropriate intervention concentration.Liver cancer SNU182 cells were classified into Control group,ICA group,ICA+pc-NC group,ICA+pc-OIP5-AS1group,ICA+pc-OIP5-AS1+miR-NC group,and ICA+pc-OIP5-AS1+miR-338-3p mimics group.Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to measure the expression of OIP5-AS1 and miR-338-3p.MTT assay was used to detect cell proliferation.Cell scratch assay was used to detect cell migration.Transwell method was used to measure cell invasion.Flow cytometry was used to measure cell apoptosis.Western blot was performed to detect the protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGF-A),vascular endothelial cadherin(VE-cadherin),proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA),cleaved caspase-3,E-cadherin,N-cadherin and vimentin.The dual luciferase activity assay verified the targeting relationship between OIP5-AS1 and miR-338-3p.Results 12.5-100 μmol/L of ICA could inhibit the proliferation of SNU182 cells(P＜0.05),and 50 μmol/L was selected for the subsequent experiments.Compared with the Control group,the OIP5-AS1 expression,the growth activity,scratch healing rate,invasion number,N-cadherin,vimentin,VEGF-A,VE-cadherin,and PCNA protein expression of SNU182 cells in the ICA group reduced,while the miR-338-3p expression,cell apoptosis rates,E-cadherin and cleaved caspase-3 protein expression increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the ICA group and the ICA+pc-NC group,the OIP5-AS1 expression,the growth activity,scratch healing rate,invasion number,N-cadherin,vimentin,VEGF-A,VE-cadherin,and PCNA protein expression in SNU182 cells in the ICA+pc-OIP5-AS1 group increased,while the miR-338-3p expression,cell apoptosis rates,E-cadherin and cleaved caspase-3 protein expression reduced(P＜0.05).Upregulation of miR-338-3p could reduce the promoting effect of overexpression of OIP5-AS1 on the malignant biological behavior of SNU182 cells(P＜0.05).Conclusion ICA may inhibit the proliferation,migration and invasion of SNU182 cells while promoting apoptosis by downregulating the expression of OIP5-AS1 and upregulating the expression of miR-338-3p.
Keywords：hepatocellular carcinomaicariinlncRNAOIP5-AS1/miR-338-3p pathwayproliferationmigrationinvasion
Publication Date：2026-02-28
Online Publishing Date：2026-04-01(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 127-133 )