Gene expression after treatment with anti-miR-191 or control

The goal of this experiment was to identify possible genes affected directly or indirectly by anti-miR-191. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a fatal disease with currently very limited beneficial therapies. MicroRNAs (miRs), which are considered to be master regulators of gene expression, have significant influence on cellular pathways and phenotype, and are de-regulated in HCC, and hence are thought to be of great therapeutic potential as novel targets. We identified hsa-miR-191 as a potential target for HCC therapy. Inhibition of this miR causes decreased cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in vitro as well as a significant reduction of tumor mass in vivo in an orthotopic liver xenograft model. This miR was also found to be up-regulated by a dioxin, a known liver carcinogen, and was found to be a key regulator of cancer related pathways. HCC cell line treated with anti-miR-191, and treated with negative control anti-miR. Treatment was done twice (duplicates) but in independent studies.