MicroRNA-345 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis by inhibiting YAP1

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the expression and biological function of miR-345 in HCC remain unknown. The present study demonstrated that miR-345 expression was reduced in HCC tissues and cell lines. Decreased miR-345 expression was associated with unfavorable clinical features and poor prognosis. In vitro functional assays showed that miR-345 overexpression inhibited the migration and invasion of MHCC-97H cells while miR-345 knockdown promoted metastatic behavior of Hep3B cells. In vivo experiments showed that miR-345 overexpression inhibited while miR-345 knockdown promoted lung metastasis of HCC cells in nude mice. Mechanically, YAP1 was identified to be the downstream target of miR-345 in HCC cells. YAP1 overexpression reversed the inhibitory effects of miR-345 on MHCC-97H migration and invasion, while YAP1 knockdown reduced the promoting effects of miR-345 knockdown on the metastatic behavior of Hep3B cells.