MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in various cancer-relevant cellular processes, including cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis. However, the function of miRNAs in hepatocellular cancer (HCC) has not been fully clarified. This study aimed to investigate the role of miR-1178-3p in HCC metastasis and try to reveal the potential mechanism. In the present study, we found that miR-1178-3p was down-regulated, while TBL1XR1 was up-regulated in HCC cancer tissues by bioinformatics analysis and RT-PCR. We further confirmed the connection of miR-1178-3p and TBL1XR1 using dual-luciferase reporter (DLR) assay. Moreover, gain- and loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that overexpress miR-1178-3p inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCC cells and reduced the xenograft tumor growth and angiogenesis by regulating the TBL1XR1/PI3K/Akt axis. Our results indicated that the novel identified miR-1178-3p functions as a tumor suppressor in HCC through regulating TBL1XR1/PI3K/Akt pathway, and these findings could be a valid molecular target for liver cancer therapy.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) 涉及各种与癌症相关的细胞过程，包括细胞增殖、迁移、侵袭和血管生成。然而，miRNA在肝细胞癌（HCC）中的功能尚未完全阐明。本研究旨在探讨 miR-1178-3p 在 HCC 转移中的作用，并试图揭示其潜在机制。在本研究中，我们通过生物信息学分析和 RT-PCR 发现，miR-1178-3p 在 HCC 癌组织中下调，而 TBL1XR1 上调。我们使用双荧光素酶报告基因 (DLR) 测定进一步证实了 miR-1178-3p 和 TBL1XR1 的连接。此外，功能获得和功能丧失实验表明，过表达 miR-1178-3p 抑制细胞增殖、迁移、和侵袭 HCC 细胞，并通过调节 TBL1XR1/PI3K/Akt 轴减少异种移植肿瘤的生长和血管生成。我们的结果表明，新发现的 miR-1178-3p 通过调节 TBL1XR1/PI3K/Akt 通路在 HCC 中起到抑癌作用，这些发现可能是肝癌治疗的有效分子靶点。