Abstract: Background and purpose: The miR-16 and miR-15a gene complexes are located within the intron of the DLEU2 gene in the human 13q14 region and are currently recognized as tumor suppressor genes. The deletion of this gene region is associated with a variety of solid tumors. miR-16 can promote tumor cell apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of miR-16 on the proliferation and apoptosis of BEL-7402 hepatocarcinoma cells. Methods: BEL-7402 hepatocarcinoma cells were divided into miR-16 infection group (the plasmid is expressed by the addition of the LV-hsa-miR-16-1 lentivirus) and negative control group which was infected with miR-16 lentivirus (the negative control virus CON220 was added). The intensity of green fluorescence was observed using an inverted fluorescence microscope. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to detect the proliferation of BEL-7402 hepatocarcinoma cells. In addition, flow cytometry was performed to detect the influence of miR-16 on cell cycle and apoptosis of BEL-7402 hepatocarcinoma cells. Results: What we found is that, compared to the negative control group, the infected cells showed an obvious decrease in the capacity of cell proliferation. The percentage of G₁ phase cells in the BEL-7402 cell cycle was reduced apparently, whereas the S and G₂/M phase cells significantly increased (P<0.05). miR-16 virus had a very significant effect on the apoptosis of BEL-7402 hepatocarcinoma cells. Conclusion: miR-16 suppresses the proliferation capacity of BEL-7402 hepatocarcinoma cells. miR-16 is expected to be a new target for targeted liver cancer therapy.

Key words: miR-16, BEL-7402 hepatocarcinoma cells, Proliferation, Apoptosis