Epigenetic modulation of miR-122 facilitates human embryonic stem cell self-renewal and hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation.

ABSTRACT: The self-renewal capacity ascribed to hESCs is paralleled in cancer cell proliferation, suggesting that a common network of genes may facilitate the promotion of these traits. However, the molecular mechanisms that are involved in regulating the silencing of these genes as stem cells differentiate into quiescent cellular lineages remain poorly understood. Here, we show that a differentiated cell specific miR-122 exemplifies this regulatory attribute by suppressing the translation of a gene, Pkm2, which is commonly enriched in hESCs and liver cancer cells (HCCs), and facilitates self-renewal and proliferation. Through a series of gene expression analysis, we show that miR-122 expression is highly elevated in quiescent human primary hepatocytes (hPHs) but lost or attenuated in hESCs and HCCs

SUBMITTER: Jung CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3225380 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature