Abstract:Objective: To investigate the expression of miRNA-873 in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) tissues and cell lines, further study the effect of miRNA-873 on migration and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. Methods: The expression of miRNA-873 in HCC tissues and cell lines was detected by RT-PCR. Wound-healing experiment and Transwell invasion were used to examine migration and invasion of cells, respectively. Western blot was used to detect the activity of Janus kinase 2(JAK2) and signal transduction and transcriptional activation 3(STAT3). Results: The results showed that miRNA-873 was upregulated in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines, compared with that in the normal control. RT-PCR showed that the expression of miRNA-873 decreased or increased after miRNA-873 inhibitor or mimic transfection, respectively(P<0.01). Compared with the normal control, knockdown of miR-873 significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of HepG2(P<0.05). However, overexpression of miRNA-873 had the opposite effect(P<0.05). We also found that miRNA-873 significantly activated JAK2/STAT3 signal pathway. Conclusion: MiRNA-873 was overexpressed in HCC and might promote HCC migration and invasion through JAK2/STAT3 signal pathway.